Absolute Dreams
by Child at Heart Forever
Summary: As Silver lays awake one night, he's haunted by unsettling dreams of what could have been: a fiery future filled with things he's never seen and people he's never met, and the fact that time had run out before he was ever born. Looking back, he thinks there may be something to those dreams of an absolution after all...like, MAYBE that they somehow actually happened.
1. Boulevard of Broken Dreams

**Hello, one and all! Welcome to the start of what may be a stroke of genius, or a ridiculously overthought and terrible idea. But, to err is human. This is the start of my Sonic 06 adaption, or as I like to call the game, "Shadow the Hedgehog 2: Rise of Silver"...featuring Sonic and Token Girl Princess.**

**Jokes aside, the reason why this is so risky is because I split the game into three separate fanfics (Sonic, Shadow, Silver, obviously), which together make a "Several Wills" trilogy. Naturally, I don't expect anyone to read and/or review all of them, especially since there's a lot of the same scenes, but I recommend at least checking out 2 out of the 3 for a fuller experience. I will say, Sonic's is naturally the canon story (it includes the Last Story, before you ask), Shadow's can be seen as a sequel to _I Am All Of Me_, and Silver's is for a fresh perspective that I haven't done before. So, take your pick. **

**If you haven't realized, this is Silver's story- Sonic's first chapter will be up Monday, and Shadow's will be up in a week or two to correspond with the order of 06's events. I know that's an erratic schedule (and will result in 1 to 3 updates a week across the three fics), but it's partly to deal with my impending college life schedule and partly corresponding with the flow of events of 06. Forgive me. **

**I'mma shut up now- I'll explain more as we go on, cuz I could write a whole chapter on why I did what I did. Thus, if you're interested in Silver's side of things, read on! ...He's definitely no Sonic or Shadow, I'll warn ya now. **

* * *

Absolute Dreams

The world I lived in wasn't a particularly bright one; not anything like the paradise of the past. But, it wasn't so bad either. Psychic powers were the norm, and while it was quiet for the most part, we could've been so much worse off.

Oh, _so much _worse off.

Whenever I went to sleep at night, I had the same cycle of dreams; ones that depicted my world in a far more desolate state of affairs. Buildings were bathed in flames; streets were broken and left in ruins, signs of life were nearly nonexistent…

It was a world that was devastated before I was born.

_So every night, I lay awake, to avoid these dreams…but every night, it just stays the same…_

I didn't know why I had these dreams, or what they were supposed to mean…but it always felt like they were meant to happen, although something stopped that chain of events before they could occur…

…_and I dreamed of an absolution._

Chapter 1: Boulevard of Broken Dreams

_~This is What I Dream~_

I dreamed that we lived in a harsh, bleak place, where dark clouds always marched across the sky, and we existed in eternal darkness amidst fire. A place where life was a struggle rather than a virtue, a pain rather than a pleasure, and people had no hope…I wanted to know why this had happened, but no one in my dreams ever answered me directly.

_But they would always point…to the flames. _

I was left to drift through the Crisis City answerless, always surveying the damage that had been done…supposedly the city had once been a central hub for a peaceful kingdom in the distant past, but that was before the flames came and brought it down from its former glory, reducing it to the hollow and empty area that it was now.

The flames always rose from the ground below where it wasn't safe to walk, rising to the sky in an attempt to wipe out any life that happened by. They were never a problem for me- I cast them away with my psychic attacks, so I suppose I was lucky- but for others…they weren't as blessed.

These flames…they burned at everything in the world, destroying everything in their path. They come from an eternal life that we could never truly defeat…

_The Flames of Disaster known as Iblis._

I hated Iblis with ever fiber in my being- he wasn't real, wasn't real…but anytime he appeared in my dreams, a chill always rocketed through my spine in my sleep, and I was scared without a reason to be.

_Or so I always told myself…_

That fear had felt so real; so much like I had somehow experienced it before. It was a bloodcurdling fear that enveloped my entire being and haunted me even while I was awake, and it was the exact same way in my dreams. The terror of something always coming for you…something deadly always just around the corner…it made you paranoid; it made you want to find something to believe in…

_But there was only one thing that ever truly qualified. _

"Silver!"

Her sharp voice cut through the darkness, one of the last sources of light that didn't belong to the flames. She was a purple cat with elegant clothes and pink high heels shoes; a girl that only appeared in my dreams, for she wasn't with me in reality.

In my dreams, she was my best friend, and her name was Blaze.

Blaze darted across the ruined buildings of Crisis City, gracefully clearing the gaps that separated her from me. She moved fluently, if only because she had run across those same buildings many times before. I was prepared to greet her, like I did in every dream, but a grave look adorned her face that said she meant business.

"Blaze? What's wrong?"

With a quick point in the direction which she came, she beckoned out to me, "He's appeared again!"

Of course. That's what it_ always_ was, yet no matter how many times it happened, it was still a top priority that needed to be taken care of…but could never be put to rest.

My expression matched her own, and after mustering up all the power in my being, I flew off toward where she pointed, rocking across the sky in a beam of light. Blaze watched as I glided by, then hurried to catch up with me.

We were in for a fight of our lives…but in this world, that was all the time.

. . .

Crisis City…a place where vehicles of old were all but rusted and busted as they lay discarded and overturned on the battered highways, a place where a roofless skyscraper with scorched walls and charred floors provided shelter, and a place where the flames rose so high and created smoke so thick that it blotted out the sun…

_Yep, Crisis City…this was good old home._

The flame tornado in the central square was looking fetching today, along with the burned pieces of concrete that added that homely touch to the streets. I looked on with my depressed gaze and took a deep breath- I needed all my focus whenever I confronted Iblis.

"Just another day in the life," I heard Blaze murmur behind me, leaping down from higher ground to join me. She was always poised in everything she did; always calm and collected, and never let our circumstances bring her down. She was headstrong, and strived every day to find a solution to our problems…

_She was the complete opposite of me._

Blaze was graceful and acrobatic, while I only had the bare minimum of fighting skills thanks to my powers, and aside from flying around, moving stuff, and oppressing Iblis, it wasn't really all that impressive. And unlike Blaze, I tended to be a complete klutz, I freaked out a lot, I panicked often, I was over the top, and I had given up on saving our world long ago because there was just nothing we could do…!

_Not to mention Blaze always insisted that I was naïve…_

So yes, I have many redeeming qualities.

Anyway, it was particularly hot in the city that day, though it was scorching every day; I assumed that the recent return of Iblis was the cause for the skyrocketing temperatures. And also because Iblis had returned, his minions and monsters were on the rise as well. They rampaged through the streets like they were throwing a party, finding new things to scorch and destroy, though they pretty much had that covered already.

"Don't they know when to quit?!" I demanded to know in a rage, raising my hands up.

Calling upon my psychic abilities, the designs on my gloves and my glove cuffs started to glow that familiar sea green glow, and the nearest objects began to shine with the same aura. I lifted the random scraps of debris up off of the ground with my mind, then hurled them at the nearest monster.

I merely got a roar of annoyance out of it, only serving to make it mad and cause it to run at us. Blaze didn't seem the least bit impressed.

"We've been doing this our whole lives, Silver; how can you still be so…sloppy with fighting?" she asked, and I had to admit, it stung a bit, but it didn't bother me because firstly, Blaze was blunt and direct like that without ever meaning to; she simply spoke her mind and I respected her for it. And second, I already knew that was true.

_You try mastering control over random objects for them to do your fighting for you!_

With the monster coming at us, and me feeling a bit bad on my lack of ability, Blaze gained a grim look and darted into the fray herself, her own flames dancing at her fingertips and eager to scorch. I simply shuffled toward the sidelines and watched intently.

Blaze herself also had psychic powers, but she had control just over flames, not _any _object. A pryokinetic, if you will. Problem was, she thought the flames were a curse; a wall that prevented her from getting close to anyone. I'd always been fascinated with her powers, but I could never get her to see it my way.

Like a fiery ballerina, she jumped onto the hood of a long forgotten taxi and created a ball of fire in her hand, hurling it down at Iblis' creatures. Three of them were struck and instantly turned to Blaze, but she remained as stoic and steady as ever as she beckoned them to come at her. Her flames managed to hurt the creatures because they represented energy and life, while anything born of Iblis' hellfire was only destined for destruction.

She destroyed the monsters in seconds, and I couldn't help but gape in awe at how effortlessly she'd managed to do it. Blaze spun around and dusted herself off like it was nothing, but then saw me wide eyed and seemed to soften a bit.

"Silver, you've managed to bring down Iblis many times before; his mooks shouldn't be too much to handle now."

"I've _never_ brought down Iblis," I stated with downcast eyes. "And it's more like I've gotten lucky enough to _not die_ while chasing him away for the time being."

She put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a serious look. "You're always so hard on yourself. You're perfectly capable of many great things if you put your mind to it."

"I could tell you the same thing."

Blaze looked amused if anything, pulling away from me and dashing down the remains of the street.

"Well, words aren't going to do us any good. Let's pick up the pace and maybe we can talk later."

"Wait, you know I can't move that fast…!" I cried, watching as she launched straight into the inferno. I sluggishly trudged after her; I was never very good at running.

It didn't help that there were so many discarded cars dispersed all over the street, making it really difficult for me to maneuver through them. Scowling, I raised my hands again and focused my energy at the vehicles, managing to pick them up one at a time and toss them out of my way. Grabbing multiple objects at once always put a strain on me, so I tried to only do it when it was absolutely necessary.

Rocks, rubble, and shrapnel were also plentiful on the way forward, but seeing as Iblis' monsters were crawling out of the cracks and crevices of the city, I found a much better use for all that disregarded shrapnel. Taking a psychic hold on a large boulder, I spun around and brought it down on a monster, smoldering its flames right on the spot. The quick defeat gave me a brief boost of confidence, and I wasted no time in reaching for a taxi and running forward with it.

More of Iblis' minions dared to trifle with me, and they were quickly met with the dented car falling on top of them and sending them straight back where they came from. But they were everywhere, emerging from the ground as worm-like creatures, taking to the air as birds, or jumping out of ruined windows as big, burly thugs with a thirst for devastation. I was dangerously outnumbered and outmatched, even with Blaze's fire power.

"Don't stop now, Silver!" she called to me, luring a large group of them over to her before incinerating them all in a funnel of fire. I couldn't let her take the brunt of the attacks –though she really did have everything under control- so I jumped to her side and let out a vibrant cry, my whole body glowing green as I took control of three fire birds swooping about our heads, prepared to dive bomb us. They were rendered immobile in the air, struggling to fight against the grip of my powers.

_That's how I felt with Iblis, trapped within his eternal hold…_

Disgusted, I cast my hand down and hurled my foes at the ground, dispatching them instantly.

This was what my life was like every day in these dreams; facing monsters, fighting fire, fending off foes… any traces of peace and happiness had disappeared centuries ago; I had been born too late to experience any goodness that remained in the world, and tales of that all but forgotten time were starting to run thin, and soon a generation would be where all they would know was the devastation that Iblis wrought.

There might not have been a next generation at all. I had been alone since my earliest days, and I had been lucky to even meet Blaze, and other living beings that weren't made of fire were few and far between, and not only was it depressing, it was also lonely. It was also for that reason that I might've relied on Blaze TOO much, because she was really the only person I could turn to and trust. There literally was no one else to serve as an alternative…which only stood as a testament to how much life Iblis truly stole from the world.

"I swear more debris is created every day…as if there's anything left to burn," Blaze mused, flipping over a chunk of crumbled building. I glided behind her, surveying the damage myself.

"Careful Blaze; the road ahead doesn't look too solid…"

Blaze stopped on a dime, then gently tapped the tip of her shoe on the area ahead of her. She recoiled instantly when a decent section of the road crumbled and fell into the sea of lava below. I felt my quills stand on end and I glanced over the edge; the chunks of pavement were claimed by the lava in seconds.

"At this rate the whole city is going to split apart," I murmured, taking control of Blaze and flying us both across the gap. A few monsters greeted us on the other side, but Blaze blasted them away with a nasty fire uppercut while I tossed some of them off the side to join the broken road in the lava below. Blaze nodded at the notion, then turned to look into the distance.

"Ugh…we're heading straight for that tornado," she sighed, looking none too pleased. Pressing my lips into a thin line, I stepped next to her.

"Yes…because that's the direction Iblis is in."

Blaze seemed to utter something, but I had missed it, and I couldn't ask because she flashed forward with that agile speed of hers and transformed into a tornado that resembled the one ahead of us. She twirled with an angelic grace that decomposed any monsters that touched her fire, bringing them to their knees with nothing more than a simple touch.

_All right, I was probably exaggerating, but I couldn't really tell what was going on between how fast she_ _moved and all the flames everywhere._

When the way forward ended once again, I took a deep breath, and my entire body started to glow green. Blaze wasn't really sure what was going on, but she noticed that a car and a chunk of road suddenly started rumbling. They became enveloped in a green aura before floating in front of me, creating a path to a higher area.

"Hurry and dart up!" I told Blaze, but telling her to hurry was unnecessary; she had dashed up the stairs in record time, landing in the area above. I withdrew my hold on the debris path, panting a bit but using my powers to carry myself up next to Blaze. It was pathetic that I had already reached my limits and we were hardly there…

"Are you all right?" Blaze asked, and I tried not to slouch and look so sluggish.

"Perfectly fine," I assured, holding up my glowing hands to confirm it. Blaze scanned me skeptically.

"I don't know; you're looking a little pale."

"I should hope so- my fur _is_ white, you know."

"That's not what I mean," she deadpanned, and I bit my lip.

_Sheesh, couldn't get anything by her… _

Before she could question me anymore, I glided over a gap and started to make my way down a knocked over building. Monsters were crawling on it from all sides, and I used any and all debris I could to knock them out of the way. When the debris ran out, I simply took hold of the monsters themselves.

_But I really hated doing that._

It was one thing to flip and fling inanimate objects around; it was another to take hold of a living being and manipulate them to your advantage. Yes, the monsters were evil in my eyes, and it shouldn't have mattered, but knowing that I could do that very same thing to anyone; temporarily stripping them of their freedom to move and restricting their will…

_It was terrifying!_

Blaze thought she had it bad, claiming that she burned everything she touched…but I thought I was on pretty even ground with the potential my powers possessed. I supposed that the grass was always greener –not that grass existed anymore- but I couldn't help but have my thoughts.

"There are more of them up ahead!" Blaze suddenly yelled, snapping me out of my thoughts. When I turned in her direction, I witness her attempt to throw a ball of fire at one of the monsters, but the brute had grabbed her wrist and effortlessly tossed her into the air, sending her tumbling. Yelping, I scrambled forward and thrust my hands forward, managing to catch Blaze before she hit the ground. She let a startled sort of shriek when she stopped, only for me to calmly place her back down on the ground. As she gathered her bearings, she turned back to me, eyes growing wide as I stomped by with two cars in my possession.

Iblis' creatures were growling to themselves until I marched up onto the scene, and they didn't appear to be the least bit deterred as I waltzed over to them. Thus, I clapped my hands together, slamming the two cars together, and sandwiched all the monsters in between, giving them something to be worried about…but I suppose it didn't matter now.

"Well, that was impressive," Blaze commented, strutting up to me with a ghost of a smile on her face. I wanted to return the favor, but I was really wearing myself out…

"Thanks, Blaze," I finally uttered, wiping some sweat off my forehead. "I appreciate the appreciation."

Her thin smile vanished and was replaced with a concern expression. She stepped over to me with her arms folded and a disbelieving look on her face.

"Silver…you're not overdoing it, with your powers, are you?"

"No," I lied, tossing a crate at a monster I missed. "I'm just wondering what direction we should take next…"

She didn't believe me for a second, and that knowing stare of hers broke me instantly...!

"Fine, fine; I can't lie," I huffed, defeated. "But come on Blaze; how am I supposed to help this world if I'm already at my limit? It's pitiful…!"

"I know you want to do what you can, but you're wearing yourself down too quickly," Blaze explained. "We can't have you panting and wheezing when we finally reach Iblis, so maybe I should take over for a while."

"No," I insisted, shaking my head. "You were almost tossed off a building not even three minutes ago…!"

"And you look like you're about to pass out," Blaze retorted. "Just leave this area to me; I can handle it myself."

I couldn't come up with a reasonable argument quickly enough, yet I could only wonder what was running though her head as she spun away from to continue onward, unwavering and strong in every move she made.

**S-B**

Silver always put me on too high of a pedestal and himself on too low of one. He never gave himself enough credit, and he gave me too much, no matter how much he insisted that I deserved every bit of praise that he gave me.

_But I hadn't done much more to contribute to the salvation of the world than he did. _

With Silver, the daily ins and day outs of constantly struggling and failing in our battle against the Flames of Disaster drove him to believe that nothing could truly be done. He felt that if nothing had been done in the past two hundred years, why could something change now? He'd once been as committed as I was, and even on the days that we failed, we'd find a relatively scorched place and look up at the sky, vowing to do better next time.

_Alas, after so many consistent losses, Silver gave up._

He only quelled Iblis to provide temporary bouts of peace, only to have it ruined by knowing that Iblis would return, again…and again…and again, rising from his own ashes like a phoenix. As the days ticked by, his smile slowly but surely faded away, bit by bit until it was a perpetual frown. He'd lost any reason to hope for happiness, for faith in joy, or a belief in anything…and eventually it started rubbing off on me too.

I couldn't blame Silver for being so downtrodden; many others had given into the despair that the Flames of Disaster wrought, and it wasn't about being strong enough to oppress; it was about knowing when you realized you've done all you could. I just believed that Silver realized that too early.

I, on the other hand, had been steadfast and dedicated to ridding our world of flames from the very first day the thought had crossed my mind. With the curse of fire spread through me just like the world, I had more than enough of a drive to quell the flames…for if I could not rid myself of them, then I would use that power to quench the world.

Having the ability to burn all you touched…it isolated me from anyone I happened across, for they feared Iblis' fire, and therefore they feared what I possessed. I became somewhat withdrawn and far too independent for my own good…but that was all before I met Silver, who managed to take some of the weight of the world off my shoulders.

_So I kept up his resolve, and he kept me company. _

Silver didn't need any of this either; even with his powers, I could always tell that he genuinely hated fighting, but it was integral to our survival. And when he did fight, he oversold himself and burned himself out quickly. I liked to see him try so hard, but doing so would also cost him in the end.

He was obediently gliding behind me as I worked my way through the buildings of Crisis City, and I could tell he was trying to keep his power usage down to a minimum so as to let himself recharge for the impending battle with Iblis. I knew very well that relying too much on our psychic abilities was dangerous, as it put a strain on our minds…but I was more experienced with mine, because instead of going all out with my attacks like Silver tended to do, I remained balanced, attacking in small doses.

_Even so, I didn't really like fighting either…I much preferred to run, though not in the way you'd think. _

We both knew that I was the fastest out of the two of us, and while I always just assumed my speed was a side effect of my powers, I took much more pride in knowing I had it. I could outmaneuver my enemies, crossing great distances in short amounts of time, and if I ever needed to, I could just run away from this city of travesty and hurry somewhere else…I don't know where I would go –the rest of the world was said to be just as bad- but knowing that there was possibly solace over the horizon somewhere…it gave me some much deserved peace.

I just wished Silver could understand that small dose of hope I got as I ran down what I could of the streets of Crisis City. Sure, they were broken and they even looped back upon themselves in some areas, but they had led somewhere once, and knowing I could possibly reach that destination someday gave me a bright thought to hold onto, because aside from those accursed flames, the world we lived in was dark. The smoke from Iblis' flames created large, billowing black clouds that blocked out the sky and blotted out the sun.

_Some believed that the sun didn't even exist, for no one had seen it in over two hundred years. I didn't even think Silver believed in it. _

But I knew it had to be real. Whenever I called upon my powers of fire, I would think of the sun's rays beaming down on me and giving me strength; the power of sol filling my entire being and gifting me with the ability to keep going. It led me to believe that I was destined for something greater, somewhere with better circumstances than I had now, and that the hidden light of the sun would reveal itself to me when the time was right.

_All I wanted was to save the world, and finally see the sun shine over this suffering world. _

The roar of Iblis' monsters pulled me out of my thoughts, so I brought my leg around and clonked one with my heel, before setting my hand ablaze and thrusting it into the creature's torso. This forced it off the edge of the building we were on, but its friends were still lingering around in a variety of shapes and sizes. Sighing, I lit up both my hands and turned to face them.

"I will do what I must cleanse the world of this hellfire!"

Whirling into them, I shoved them over the edge as I did with their companion mere seconds earlier, then jumped onto some scaffolding and grinded my way to a new area. With Silver silently gliding behind me, I rushed through the halls of the latest deserted building, working my way down the floors by ricocheting from spring to spring. It was starting to get increasingly warmer, so I knew were getting increasing closer to Iblis…

"This is nowhere near over!" I called out, braking to a stop upon seeing some fiery brutes in my way. They sneered at me and tried to send some fire my way; I canceled it out, jumping through the flames and delivering some devastating kicks to each of their torsos. They all stumbled back and thudded into the walls, with Silver taking a psychic hold on them and tossing them out of my way. When they were gone, I glanced over my shoulder at him, and he cautiously stared at the ground.

"…sorry," he utterly quietly.

"There's no need to apologize; I was just wondering why you're suddenly so quiet."

"We'll, we've kinda said all we need to say."

_It strung that he was right._

"Well…we're getting close to Iblis' location," I began, scrapped for a different topic as he claimed. "Would you like to take over again?"

"Yes," Silver stated seriously, stepping forward with a serious look in his eyes. "I would."

**B-S**

Blaze had cleared several buildings and covered far more ground in a faster amount of time than I had, and it was in that moment that I wanted to work harder so I wouldn't be as much of a burden to her. She had better control over her powers, and with enough dedication, I could do the same…and perhaps, if I just became strong enough, maybe I could defeat Iblis once and for all.

_Farfetched thoughts, but I could dream._

I threw myself forward, flinging over the remains of a broken boulevard and advancing toward the fire tornado that now towered over our heads and dragged everything in its path into its unforgiving funnel…I wished it would pull Iblis' monsters into its inferno and take everything away…

"Hopeful thinking again," I muttered, placing my hand on the ground and moving more objects to create a path for Blaze and I. I darted across the debris, breathing in the ash-filled air as I worked toward the center of destruction, and in the distance I could hear Iblis' roar.

_A sound that pierced me to the core. _

"This is no time lose my nerve!" I grunted, though a shudder rocketed through my being when two large fiery brutes emerged from the tornado, standing at two and half times my size with twice the muscles to match. Instinctively, I levitated a nearby blue truck and threw it at the two of them, but the vehicle seemed to simply dent upon making impact. They went to swing at me, and I tripped out of the way, stumbling to the ground and almost completely at their mercy. They thundered over to me with their fists raised, but at the last second I gained control of a slab on concrete and threw it at them, managing to get them to stagger away.

"Silver!" Blaze cried, trying to get over to me, but she was busy dealing with two lava lizards of her own. The brutes I was facing had heard her cry, and they weren't too quick to go after me once I hit them in the face with pavement.

I jumped to my feet and charged my psychic power, glowering at those ruthless beasts…!

"Stay away from us!" I shouted, creating a psychic wave of pure energy that I cast forward like a knife. The monsters only had a second to look before my attack sliced through them, bringing them down on the spot. The lizard creatures caught sight of it all and had started to run, but Blaze had grabbed them by the tail and hurled them over the edge.

"Serves you right!" she hissed at them, dusting her hands off of soot afterward. I then rushed by and grabbed her hand, pulling her forward.

"Come on; we're almost there!"

We stood on the edge of a metal beam, and I reached down and used my powers to bend it down. When I released, we were flung onto a completely different building, one that was overturned and ran parallel to the tornado. We wasted no time in running the length of it, dodging debris and avoiding monsters whenever we could.

"Let's do this quickly!"

"Look out!" Blaze yelled, yanking me away from the massive variety of things that were being hurled out of the tornado. I ducked under a wall from a building and another car; Iblis could throw whatever he wanted at me, and take away everything in my life before I even had a chance to have it, but I would keep pushing on…

_It's all I could do at this point._

Standing at the edge of that broken building, we stared straight into the heart of the tornado, where Iblis emerged out of his hellish flames. He glowered at us with his beady green eyes before letting out a horrendous roar of heat; one so strong that it send Blaze and I recoiling.

"Come on, you monster!" I shouted, challenging it with a fearless façade. It growled again and raised its four arms intimidatingly. He was so large that when he stretched, he completely blocked my view of the smoke-streaked sky, rising as higher than me as he could as if to prove the dominance he had over me. He was silently taunting me, letting me know that no matter how many times I opposed him, he would always be stronger, and that he would be there, swallowing the lands in flames until the very end of time.

The sounds of the crackling flames within the tornado were almost deafening, and the heat from that and the rushing lava was completely unbearable. But it was in these hot and miserable conditions that Iblis thrived, and the rest of us were just supposed to contend with that.

It scared me to know that I was going up against this infernal monster with no chance of victory at all; going in knowing that it's fruitless and that one wrong move could cost me my own life-!

"Silver, focus!" Blaze yelled at me, already dodging the first of many attacks. "I'll try to keep it distracted, but you've got to subdue him…!"

"I know…" I cringed, gritting my teeth and facing the demon once more. "Iblis! Today…it will be finished!"

_And I so wanted to believe that._

"His weak spot is the armored head! Aim for that!" Blaze reminded me. "I can't get close enough to hit him personally, so be careful!"

I took in a deep breath and assumed a fighting pose; Iblis simply threw his head back and launched a storm of flaming rocks from his torso, showering the building with an assault. Blaze pirouetted out of the way of each of them, while I held my hand above my head and stopped some in midair.

"Throw at me whatever you want!" I yelled, running forward with the rocks. "Just know that I'll throw it BACK!"

I hurled the rocks right back at Iblis, each of them glancing off his head but also doing accumulated damage. I knew it wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Still, Iblis was undeterred, reaching behind him and tearing an entire skyscraper right off its foundation. My pupils shank as I watched him swing it with no hesitation, bringing it down right on top of us.

_He never did THAT before…!_

"Aaaaaaaah!"

I scrambled in front of Blaze, threw out my arms, and closed my eyes; there was no way I could take control of the entire building in time, so I was hoping that the shield I formed around us would hold out.

Even in that veil of protection I bestowed upon us, I still felt like I was being utterly crushed beneath the weight of the building, only saved by the fact that the building had completely shattered upon impact with the one we were standing on, giving us a bit of breathing room. That scene of the building coming down at us was still vivid in my mind; still making my heart race…

"He's getting craftier," Blaze realized with wide eyes, on her knees and watching Iblis distastefully.

"_Craftier_?! You give him a compliment when we almost got crushed to death!?"

"We'll discuss this when we get out of this," Blaze stated, using her fire spin to send a chunk of debris back at Iblis. I fumed and picked up a metal object, shaking my head.

"That's IF we get out of this…"

Crashing my object against Iblis' head, I found myself empty handed as Iblis prepared his next attack, and I was really hoping that it wasn't another building. Instead, it was huge chunks of some forgotten road, and I gulped, stood my ground, and held out my hands.

"Silver, don't try to-!" Blaze had started to warn me, but it was too late; it was already in motion.

"Come on," I grunted to myself, straining hard and pushing myself to the limit. "Don't be weak…don't be useless."

My chest started heaving up and down, trying to take in as much air as possible as I perform the mentally taxing act of halting all four chunks at once. The first one had been easy, and the second one wasn't so bad, but after that, it was hard to keep those two in the air while reaching for two more. Iblis stared down at me in an almost condescending fashion, and it caused a growl to build up in my throat.

"Argh…!"

Panting and gasping, I hurled the two I'd already claimed at Iblis, knocking him hard enough in the jaw to make him bend back. I then attacked double time with the other two chunks, smashing them so hard into Iblis that they completely shattered. I landed back on the ground, sweaty and tired, but aside from Iblis losing some of his armor in a fiery blaze, he didn't seem that worn out.

Blaze stared at me with worried eyed, but I tried to avert my gaze as I levitated any and all odds and ends of the world that I could and chucked them at Iblis, lost in a blind and exhausted fury that I couldn't break out from. Half the things I threw didn't even hit Iblis, and some that did didn't even hit him in the head.

"Die, you fiend…and stay down!" I yelled, hovering in the air, ripping several bricks off of our platform skyscraper and flinging them all at Iblis. Each one was just a little bit to snuff his flames inch by inch, and while it was baby steps, it was still satisfying. "You've ruined this world, and I was destined for a life of depression before I even existed! It's not fair that you took that away from me, and all of the other people that this world once house…it's not fair that you stole the lives of so many people; stole the life of the planet itself!"

I was a hot mess at this point, my head quills even drooping down into my face. I irritatedly brushed them out of my face and kept snarling at Iblis, anticipating his next attack with a look that I knew was crazed on my face. Iblis simply threw his head back and roared, tearing up another building and locking onto me.

"Bring it on!" I shouted, standing my ground and spreading out my arms. "I said I could take anything you threw!"

"Stop it, Silver!" Blaze yelled, running for me. "Don't let him get the best of you!"

"Get out of the way, Blaze!" I retorted, using my powers to toss her to safety.

She let out a stunned scream, hitting the ground rather harshly and rolling rather close to the edge. She manage to stop herself by wedging her claws into the wall….only to look up and see Iblis break a whole building over my head. Blaze wanted to scream again, but instinct took over, and she turned away shielding her face from the aftermath debris. When she turned back around, her eyes instantly scanned around for me, and thankfully I had managed to form a shield at the last possible moment, but as I writhed on the ground in pain, I knew I wasn't in good shape.

"I-Iblis…" I moaned, crawling along the ground in an attempt to stand back up. He threw another rock at me; I went to defend, but my powers puttered out, and the boulder sent my flying across the area.

"Noooooo…!"

The crapsack world around me blurred into one hideous shade of orange-brown as I tumbled through the air, not knowing what was going on until my back slammed into something hard and firm. I fell forward, weakened beyond belief, and landed face first on the ground, my eyesight hazy…everything blending into one…except for that spot of lavender…

"Nrgh…"

I don't what it was that made me get up again, but I did finally get back on my feet, though my balance was shot and I was stumbling everywhere. Iblis was readying another attack, and with as much remaining power that I had, I grabbed a nearby car and threw it upwards, hoping to make it connect even with my terrible aim.

I must've struck him, because he cried out in recoil, and I heard more of his protection explode off. I was nearly ready to collapse after that, but Blaze was suddenly at my side, trying to shake me out of it.

"Keep it together! He's almost down!"

_Easy for her to say- she wasn't chucked into the wall of a building at top speed._

"Your glow is fading…you overdid it again!" she suddenly exasperated, and I only huffed and shrugged.

"He deserved it…"

"But you don't!" Blaze insisted. "What's the good in bringing Iblis down if you're only bringing yourself down along with him?!"

"Well, for one, you'd be safe from him," I pointed out. She was struck speechless, but before she could find any words I yanked her behind me and cast a psychic knife, slicing a huge slab of concrete coming our way right in half. "…guess we all still have some fight left in us."

_Iblis more so than me, though._

He cast more of his tiny flaming rocks at us, and we both ran from them. I was trying to conserve my powers as much as possible now, since I went crazy and overspent myself like a fool. Seeing as his attack had failed, Iblis resorted to heaving fire over the area. Blaze stepped in harm's way, casting her hands forward with a vibrant cry and utilizing the flames for herself. She then condensed them into a single ball of fire and sent it back. Unfortunately, Iblis simply opened his mouth and swallowed the attack whole.

"Of all the insulting…!" she hissed, clenching her fists. "Don't let your guard down, Silver!"

Iblis was completely armor free now, though if I didn't strike him quickly and precisely, he'd just keeping on attacking relentlessly… this lava-ridden monster had to be stopped at all costs!

The demon brought up another chunk of building, roaring loud enough to rattle the whole city as he pared to snuff our lights out. Blaze and I ran as far away as we could from the impending doom, and we had just barely managed to get out of its range. The force of impact of the crash was enough to send us flying, along with the shrapnel of the destroyed building, but this was also my chance to finally do away with this creature…for now, at the very least.

I did a backflip, landed on my feet, and charged forward, palms glowing with recharged energy and a resolve that I wasn't sure I had.

"Take this…!" I cried, gathering several large remaining pieces of the building, holding them high over my head. I then lifted myself into the air and stared dead on at Iblis. Iblis snarled back, and I wanted to freeze right then and there…but somewhere in me I found the resolve to bring those remaining building chunks down onto Iblis, casting him back into the flames he crawled out from. He sank into the lava with a defeated breath, going lower and lower until all but one arm was submerged…and eventually, that succumbed too.

_It was another victory for me…yet there was no celebration for it. _

"Looks like we stopped it for now," Blaze said after a suffocating silence, with me feeling completely spent. I had given as much as could against that thing…and knowing I hadn't entirely earned the victory was an awful feeling.

_If I was forced to keep fighting him like this, I'd die!_

"It'll just rise up from its ashes again…!" I hissed out in spiteful anger, slamming my fists against the nearest solid object. "What's the point of all this? It'll never end! _You_ can't kill it; _I_ can't kill it… are we just going to spend every waking moment of our lives condemning ourselves to failure?!"

"It's not like that, and you know it-" Blaze had started to intervene, but I shook my head.

"No, please…let me be. Just for a moment."

Quietly, Blaze recoiled, and I thunked my head against the wall that I'd hit. I wanted to save the world more than anything, but it was so hard, and so_ impossible_, and I couldn't find any other possible solution to really take down Iblis…yet if I didn't, all was lost ages ago.

"Arrrgh-!"

"Calm down, Silver!" Blaze exclaimed harshly. Heaving hot and heavy breaths, I felt my fists clench tighter.

"…then tell me what we should do," I inquired, shooting a look straight at her. "How can we completely destroy Iblis?!"

The question echoed off the remains of the city and vaporized into the hot and humid air, vanishing without an answer. For once, Blaze didn't have a response, although that only served to make me feel lousier.

"…by knowing the truth, of course."

The deep voice that echoed out of the darkness to reply to me definitely didn't belong to Blaze, and upon realizing that another being was in our present, I nearly had a heart attack. Blaze and I glanced toward the direction the sound came from, only to find a dark hedgehog standing on higher ground and looking down at us.

He had teal-streaked fur, metallic rings around his wrists and ankles, a patch of white fur on his chest, eerie green eyes with slits for pupils, and a mouthless face, one that provided no expression. He cast his hand over us, speaking lowly yet firmly.

"Just as a flower comes from a seed, or a chicken comes from an egg…everything has an origin."

_We hadn't had flowers or chickens in decades…many, many decades._

"You need to find the being responsible for this catastrophe," he continued, casting his hand upward. I stepped forward, intrigued by this proposition of an option.

"Is that really the answer to our problem?" I asked. I had to know more… "Tell me, do you know who it is?"

Finally, there was something we could do…! After years of pointless fighting, we were finally on our way to the true destruction of Iblis. This stranger, who appeared from out of thin air to answer my prayers…in nothing but a few mere words, he'd given me exactly what I wanted.

Blaze wasn't nearly as excited as I was though, instead warily watching this strange newcomer glance down at us with the soulless look in his eyes…I could tell he rubbed her the wrong way, but when he made a motion with his hand for us to follow him, I was quick to do so.

_Even if Blaze was skeptical about it…what other choice did we have?_

. . .

The strange shadowy character led us halfway across the city, descending into what appeared to be the remains of a base of some sort. It was dark and abandoned, like every other place in the world, but miraculously the lights still worked; the place still had power.

"To fix this present timeline, you need to change the past," the mystery figure explained, leading us deeper into a room filled with broken technology, tattered chairs, and destroyed foundation.

"But that's impossible, as much as I'd love to believe that to be true," I replied, looking around the weird room and wondering what it had in store for us. The hedgehog chuckled under his breath before turning to look at us, spreading out his arms.

"With my help you can, because I have the power to travel through time!"

My eyes nearly popped out of my head; controlling time? What I wouldn't give for abilities like that! "No way!"

"In order to change the past, you must eliminate the individual who awakened Iblis…the Iblis Trigger."

"Could it be true? If I eliminate that guy, will our world be saved?" I wondered out loud, and to my surprise, the hedgehog had nodded slowly.

_There was my answer._

Blaze stepped closer more out of curiosity than anything, and I had to take a moment to process it all.

The Flames of Disaster…according to this time travelling hedgehog, there was one person who was responsible for letting Iblis run free; for letting him destroy the world, and he was known as an Iblis Trigger. In all fourteen years of my life, I never knew that the Flames of Disaster were the direct result one of person…

…but now that I knew…

…I could eliminate them, and therefore eliminate Iblis.

My world, my time; it would no longer be plagued by the threat of flame and fire! No longer would it have fallen to the powers of incendium! Over two hundred years of pain, suffering, death, loss, depression, and hopelessness would be snapped right out of time…and Blaze and I...

We could live again.

We could live free.

"The Day of Disaster…" the hedgehog murmured, turning to the large screen at the back of the room. "Here are my records of this event. This is when Iblis was freed, and his flames were released into the world."

He hit a button on the keyboard, and screen lit up instantly, displaying a ton of information of the past…words that had documented the last time the world was livable; the last time the lands were fire free…

"All this chaos and destruction began on this day…and you have this person to blame."

He pulled out a mystical purple gem that had an unearthly glow to it, and he offered it to me to hold. Hesitantly, I held out my hand for it, and he placed it into my palm. A surge of power that I've never experienced rocketed up my arm, and I nearly dropped it just because of that.

But my mind was so focused on wanting to know the identity of the Iblis Trigger -the one I could blame for ruining the world- that it seemed like the emerald had heard my heart calling out, turning my thoughts into power and showing me just what I wanted to see.

I found myself lost in that emerald's purple haze, though what I saw in it I didn't entirely expect…

It was a blue hedgehog, one that didn't look too much older than me, with bright green eyes, cobalt blue fur, red sneakers, and a pristine and genuine smile on his face.

And he was surrounded by furious flames as far as the eye could see.

I nearly yelped and hurled the gem across the room, but I caught myself at the last moment, gaping into the emerald uncontrollably.

"I see it!" I exclaimed, now looking forward with a look of determination. "So that blue hedgehog is the Iblis Trigger?!"

Blaze suddenly froze, stepped over to me curiously. "Blue hedgehog…?"

"Hm? Did you say something, Blaze?"

Blaze was almost looking into the emerald too, but I pulled her out of her thoughts and snapped her back into reality.

"No, no…it's just…something about that is kinda surprising, that's all," she murmured, but she said nothing more beyond that. Dismissing it as nothing, I passed the gem back to our mysterious benefactor, and he nodded intently.

"I'll send us back in time to the point when the Iblis Trigger was still alive…"

A purple ball of energy sparked to life between the palms of his hands, growing increasingly bigger by the second. When it was larger than himself, he turned to face Blaze and I, the energy filling the whole room and enveloping all of us in its glow. I had no idea what to expect- up to five minutes ago, I didn't even know time travel was possible!

And right now, as we vanished right out of the room, I was about to find out for sure.

Going back in time to rid the world of the Iblis Trigger…for many years, I'd lost faith that the circumstances for our world could be changed, but today, after being told that killing the Iblis Trigger could save us all…

_I had something to believe in. _


	2. Things Only Found in Dreams

**SonicSonic54321: **Well, Silver and Shadow's stories are ten chapters each, while Sonic's is seventeen, so the Several Wills Trilogy as a whole is thirty-seven chapters. Wordwise, Sonic's the longest (naturally), Silver's the shortest, and Shadow's in the middle. It's gonna be fun. xD

**werewolf lover99: **As much as I appreciate your constant suggestions, I really can't find a place for your characters, especially not in adaptions (which is already a double-edged sword; I have to stay close to the original material while adding in other things that flow well with the story). I'm aware you've been at this for a while- honestly your best shot is to find a story that's actively asking for OCs- and in this day and age, they are rather commonplace. :P

. . .

**Ooh, before anyone wonders, yes- Silver's entire story is him recounting his dreams, but I felt that being _constantly_ reminded of that fact every chapter was a) incredibly repetative and b) diminshed its plot impact overall, so until the final chapter, that particular fact isn't made glaringly obvious all the time. I know its the main thing of the story, but I just did what I thought was best in the long run. **

* * *

Absolute Dreams

Chapter 2: Things Only Found in Dreams

I guess the time travel must've taken quite a toll on me -combined with the fact that the battle with Iblis had drained me- because I was out cold for the longest time, and when I stirred again, I had no idea when I was, how long I was out, or where I was…

I just knew that when I opened my eyes, I was laying my back…and I was looking up at a _blue_ sky.

I froze on the ground, having never seen anything like it, and everything else that I happened to catch a glimpse of completely overwhelmed me.

There were tall, gray rocky cliffs, plantlife that had several shades of green in each and every blade of grass and leaf on the trees, air that was clean and fresh and crisp and didn't burn your nose with every whiff, and the light that enveloped the area wasn't harsh and unforgiving; it was welcoming and the right sort of warm, and just as I was wondering what could cause the world to be that bright and NOT be doused in flames, I looked up again…and I saw the sun.

"…the sun does exist," I muttered under my breath, my mind now completely blown. This was so much different from the burned city that I lived in. Life was everywhere, even in the most inanimate objects- it was the sound of birds in the air, the dance of the wind, the colors of nature, in the light, up in the sky, it was all around…!

_And almost more than I could take._

"…where AM I?"

I stood up and circled around, trying to absorb it all at once. I was so immersed by the majesty of it all that it took me a while to realize than neither Blaze nor the time traveler were anywhere in the area.

_I was in the past…alone._

"Blaze? Blaze?!" I shouted into the calmness of the day, though only silence responded to me. "…I guess we all got separated…"

Great, GREAT. I was in an unknown time, unknown place, thanks to an unknown guy. I didn't know what to expect, and I didn't even have Blaze to take away some of the overwhelming feeling…

…but still, somehow, the past wasn't nearly as intimidating as I thought it'd be. It was vastly different, with things that haven't been seen in centuries –things that I thought I'd _never _get to see!- but I supposed living in the world after an apocalypse forces you to expect the worst. But now that I wasn't there anymore, I felt like I could shed that constant orb of anxiety that always accompanied me. There was no impending doom around every corner, no everlasting fire to consume me, no Iblis to threaten me into submission…

_It's too much…too much…_

"This is SO unbelievable…!" I squawked, still watching the world with gawking eyes. There were fluffy white clouds drifting across the blue expanse of sky, instead of toxic plumes of smoke. There was the high-pitched chirping of birds instead of the endless crackling of fire. There was a gentle cool breeze, making the temperature outside perfect, instead of the heated air that made already miserable circumstances unbearable.

_It was a shame that soon enough, in a few days' time…all this would be gone._

That thought actually almost brought tears to my eyes, but I then remembered just what I was here for- to _prevent _that from coming to be.

"Now…I must fight for the future!"

I started running off, believing that if the Iblis Trigger was going to single handedly release Iblis, and inevitably cause the world's end, wiping out all of this life with it…then he _deserved_ to die.

. . .

"The Iblis Trigger…where is he? First, I should probably gather some information…"

…Because I hadn't the_ slightest _clue on where to look, what to do, or how things worked. I already looked out of place enough; the last thing I needed was suspicion. Basically all I knew was fight or die, but here, there were more variables to living, and survival wasn't necessarily on the forefront of everyone's minds.

As I made my way through the forest, taking care to move swiftly and out of sight, I found that there were a few people lingering around as well. They were all happy and healthy, and it was such a strange sight that I honestly wasn't sure if it was real. I jumped into the branches of a tree to get a better view on just what these people were doing.

_And in general…it all looked just like pure and simple fun._

I know the Iblis Trigger had to be stopped, but technically, I had all the time in the world to put an end to him- that was one positive thing about time travel. And…I couldn't help but get distracted by the past's inhabitants. Some were sitting in the grass tending to the wild flowers that grew there, some were conversing with others and laughing into the wind, and a few were chasing each other around in some sort of game. At one point, they had tumbled into the grass, and it looked comfortable- falling on the ground in _my_ time was a _huge _mistake.

I wanted nothing more than to experience everything that the past had to offer, but I had to remind myself that I could_ have_ this in the future, as long as I fulfilled my mission. And now that I knew what the future had been deprived of, I was more driven than ever.

"All right, I'd better ease up on the sight-seeing for the time being," I told myself, leaping out of the tree and stepping into the open, feeling the sun's warm and embracing rays against my fur. It was such a nice feeling that I ended up embracing it by standing in one spot, closing my eyes, throwing my head back, and taking it all in.

_Until a little girl suddenly tugged on my arm._

She dragged me out of my bliss, making me yelp and stagger back until I tripped over a rock. Collapsing onto the ground, I found her staring down at me with wide brown eyes, and she appeared to be eating something while she scrutinized me.

"Um, hello…?" I squalled. The girl just blinked, licked her treat, then blinked again.

"Hi."

Of all the questions I could have asked, it probably shouldn't have been this one:

"What…are you eating?"

She stared at me quizzically like I was the dumb one…and in this situation, I probably was.

"It's ice cream," she explained, taking a large bite out of it. "Chocolate. Have you had ice cream before?"

"I…can't say I have…"

She held out the ice cream towards me, simpering at the same time. "Wanna try some?"

"Ah…I'll pass, thanks…" I declined, picking myself up off the ground with my powers. She was the one to stagger back now, her jaw dropping completely.

"Whoa, how'd you do that?!" she shrieked, and I just raised an eyebrow.

"Erm…people don't usually do that?"

"No, though the alien invaders in Chao in Space III could move people with their minds."

_What…?_

I definitely wasn't expecting what was coming next.

"Are you an alien invader?!"

This girl with pink clothes, brown eyes, brunette hair, and a rapidly melting ice cream was dead serious about her question, and I had a feeling that the true answer wouldn't quite get across to her…though I really wasn't some sort of alien!

"No, I'm not an alien, but tell me kid…" I trailed, bending down to her eye level. "Do you like this forest?"

"Like it…?" She took another lick of her ice cream and beamed again. "I love it! It's like a tropical jungle out here! Me and my friends have a lot of fun and adventures here- s'why I'm here now! I just saw you imitating a plant and wanted to talk to you."

Ignoring that latter comment, I looked the girl in the eyes, trying to convey my point better. She just took another chomp of that ice cream.

"Well, I'm here to make sure that you'll have this…'tropical jungle' to play in and love forever, okay?"

"Are you going to use your weird powers to do that?" she asked, and I nodded slightly. "…maybe you should go show off your powers at the Festival of the Sun! If you please our Sun God, maybe he'll bless this forest and let it thrive forever!"

Now she really caught me off guard.

"Festival of the Sun? Sun God?"

She nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Once a year, we give thanks to this country's Sun God- Solaris! We hold a festival to appease him, in hopes of getting his blessing for our country! And it's being held tonight!"

"That's nice," I said after a long and awkward silence. "But um, you wouldn't by any chance have seen a blue hedgehog anywhere, have you?"

"Nah, you're the only hedgehog I've seen today…although, I'm not totally convinced that it's what you are," she retorted, and I glowered at her. "…but if there IS a blue hedgehog in Soleanna, then he's probably going to Festival of the Suuuuun later!"

Sighing, I put a hand to my forehead. "Well, I guess this festival warrants checking out, then. Can you point me toward where it's being held?"

"Back at Soleanna City," she explained, pointing off toward deeper into the forest. "It's a long walk though, but maybe by the time you get there, the Festival will be just beginning!"

_If the Iblis Trigger had a chance of being at that festival…then I was going to be there too._

"Thank you, kid- you've been more helpful than you know!" I called over my shoulder, manipulating myself and flying off in the direction she pointed at. She waved me off with a look of wonder…then finished up her ice cream.

. . .

Traversing through the Tropical Jungle was a surreal experience, for I had never seen so many colors in one place before…I was so used to variants of reds, ranges, yellows, and browns that seeing the other half of the rainbow in such abundance was mindboggling. The purple of the wild flowers, the blue of that sky, and the green of all the vegetation…it was breathtaking.

_And the best part of all was the water!_

Iblis had all but boiled the usable water in my time, yet we managed to get by with whatever we could find to drink. But here, there were still oceans, and even the ponds that filled this jungle seemed like an endless sea to me. I knelt down by the water's edge, simply taking the time to stare at my reflection in the water. The only other time I saw my reflection were in broken window shards, but here…I had the whole picture.

"Wow, my quills really grew…" I noted, brushing the ones on my forehead with my hand and pulling at the ones in the back. I then frowned and rubbed at the dark circles around my eyes…_those_ hadn't always been there, either. "…well, overall, I guess I could be worse."

I stared at myself for a while longer, until something disturbed the surface of the water. Glancing to my right, I saw a small furry creature craning into the water, lapping it up bit by bit to get a drink. I watched it curiously, then glanced at the water myself.

"Huh, fresh water…"

Using my powers, I scooped up a generous helping of water and guided it over to my mouth. Drinking it gingerly, I found that it was _definitely_ the best tasting water to ever grace my taste buds and ended up drinking a ton more of it.

_I didn't realize I was so dehydrated…!_

Wiping my mouth dry, I stood back up and continued on my way, still having plenty of time to kill before the Festival of the Sun. It actually sounded like a fun thing to attend, but I was going to be there on business…

Anyway, entering the rest of the jungle, I used my abilities to make my way through. It was nice to not have to use them solely for fighting off foes for once, instead using them to bounce to higher ground via lily pads, move branches out of my way, and give myself a little boost. The new environment to use my powers on was very refreshing, and even gave me a bit more confidence in what I could do.

"Wait, what's that though…?"

I must've spoken too soon, because I wasn't too deep into the jungle when something was shooting at me. I dodged out of the way, watching as the projectile stayed on path and proceeded to explode into a rock, detonating it to pieces. From my hiding spot, I turned to look at the source again, and the only way I could describe it was as…metallic, or at least some sort of machine.

"Why is it attacking me?" I wondered aloud, evading another projectile. The next time it fired however, I took control of it, turning its ammo against it and blowing it up instead. I just watched as the explosion cleared away, very confused at what I witnessed.

"It was no Iblis monster, but I hadn't done anything to provoke it; why did it attack?" I couldn't help but ponder. "And I thought that the machines of the past were mostly used for good…but who would use creations like THAT?"

_I was really hoping it wasn't the Iblis Trigger._

Forging onward, I discovered even more machines up ahead. There were crates scattered everywhere, so I picked a few of them up with my mind and hurled them at my new adversaries. The wooden ones simply splintered and went in all directions, but the metal ones managed to be successful. I wasted no time in getting away from the area, but no matter where I seemed to run, those machines were crawling all over the place…!

"I guess the past isn't as flawless as I thought," I mused, taking hold of the machines, lifting them into the air, and hurling them into the water, where they then sparked and struggled before puttering out. I now found myself hurrying to get out of the forest- those things were everywhere, and I'd hate for something to happen to me while I was still separated from Blaze…

That thought rattled me to the core, but I took a deep breath and ran on, keeping an eye peeled for any more machines. Nothing was going to stop me now-!

"Hey, is that a turtle?"

I was on higher ground at the time, but when I looked down into the water, I caught sight of a giant turtle wading his way through the water. His shell was huge, though I wasn't sure if that was normal or not, but I didn't care- it was majestic all the same.

_Made me wish we had animals still…_

"We will again," I promised myself as I swung over a large gap by using a vine with a flower on the end of it. This way, I launched myself high into the air, and then glided over to the next area. From here, I could see that it was actually part of some submerged ruins, and knowing that I was in a place from even further in the past was actually kind of cool.

"I've got to see more…!" I exclaimed, flying up to even higher ground and scouting out over the edge. From this height, I could see over all the trees and could see out into the horizon…that glorious horizon where the rest of the peaceful world was waiting.

_And also the Iblis Trigger. _

I was caught off guard once again when another projectile whizzed by my head; I whipped my head in the direction it came from, finding that it originated from an even larger machine than what I had faced earlier. This one was far taller than me, and almost looked humanoid, with its bulky arms, sturdy legs, large torso, and something of a head on top. It lifted one of its arms and appeared to take aim at me, launching another one of those explosive projectiles at me.

"This is ridiculous!" I cried, raising my hand and stopping the missile, turning it right back around again. It collided with the torso of the robot and detonated, taking off only one of its arms. Frustrated, I grunted and allowed my hands to glow green, and I started to take the machine apart piece by piece, spreading them all out until there was nothing left of it in the area.

"If we had such technology in my time, it wouldn't be wasted on these foolish drones…!" I exclaimed, shaking my head. The machines had been the only flaw in the past I found so far…and they were _really _annoying. This place had probably been someone's home once, and they were marching around in it and destroying everything! Time may have taken it over, but that didn't mean_ they_ needed to…

"I supposed the past had its problems too," I hummed under my breath, ducking back into the thick of the forest, out of sight and shielded from any more robots that wanted to follow me for whatever reason. "…they're just not as big as the future's."

I wondered what else I'd be in store for as I pressed on through the thicket, refusing to look back for anything…though I had to wonder how Blaze was faring in this different yet majestic time period, in a time far brighter than ours…

**S-B**

"So this is the past…"

_It was breathtaking. _

Just the mere fact that I was seeing the world without fire lining the horizon and consuming all in its path was pleasant enough, but it was able to be so bright without the source being the flames…!

The sun was high in that pleasant blue sky, and I took as much of it in as I could, and as I did, all I wanted was for that very same symbol of hope to shine in the skies of my own time, as a beacon through the smoke to show the people that remained in the world that a brighter future wasn't unobtainable.

I wondered how Silver was coping in this copasetic time. I'm not sure how we got separated, but as I looked at the wooden houses with orange roofs in the area, I couldn't help but think that he was having a different experience than I was.

"I hope Silver's okay," I said to no one in particular, walking along in the sand and getting used to the feel. "He's pretty insecure when he's alone."

I then frowned to myself, getting lost in thought.

"The Iblis Trigger…a blue hedgehog…can it be true?"

_Why did that feel so wrong?_

Maybe it was just my inner tuition, but it felt so unnatural for such a combination couldn't be possible, but Silver and I had seen it ourselves- the one who set the chain of events toward the freeing of Iblis into motion was that blue hedgehog, and it couldn't be denied. Above all else, we had to ensure that Iblis was not released from whatever its prison was, and save our time from falling into ruin; to preserve the paradise of life that was in the past…

"My mission is clear, then," I whispered to myself, walking on to begin my journey. "Whatever I may think otherwise, the Iblis Trigger has to be brought his knees…"

With that in mind, I took a deep breath and leapt off the side of the cliff, jumping head first into my first steps in the past…

. . .

I needed to find Silver fast, so thankfully the terrain I ended up in wouldn't prove too hard to traverse. It was much calmer than the raging flames, falling debris, and furious monsters of our time, so I was feeling pretty confident. The fresh ocean air was almost intoxicating; it was such a refreshing taste compared to what we had in the future.

_The people of the past didn't know how lucky they had it._

I was currently running straight down a rock formation, the wind running wildly through my fur. The formation curved into itself, like some of the roads in Crisis City, but this was a natural occurrence, and as I ran the loop I actually felt like I was living for the first time.

_To think, we could have been living like this the whole time…_

I bounded across rocks and boardwalks, being tossed into the air by ramps that were still around in abundance. Enjoying the feeling of flying for a brief moment, I alighted on a beach, where the palm trees were high, the wind was soft, and the sand seemed to be made of a thousand sparkles…

_It was a paradise except for the _things_ that dared to attack._

I hadn't even been on the ground for a few minutes, let alone in the past, and there was something attacking me. I knew that the past had wars and battles too, but I wasn't expecting to deal with anything of the sort now…

"Perhaps I underestimated this time period," I stated, lighting my hands aflame and rushing at the pack of foes. Their attacks were dangerous, yes, but when I got my hands on them, they fell apart almost instantly. I didn't even need my fire- I jumped from one to the next, flipping and twirling in the air in between. Pieces were tossed everywhere, especially when I swung my leg around and sliced a drone in two.

"Years of practice," I hummed contently, rushing away from the aftermath. I tore through the ones that were up ahead too, and while I couldn't figure out what their purpose was, the mere fact that they attacked me was more than enough to make them my enemy. They nearly filled the beach with their numbers, and the subtle landscape was only disturbed by their presence.

"…this is not my battle though."

Sure, they may have gotten in my way, but tampering with the past more than what I wanted to could've been risky, and for all I knew, I was destroying robots that would cure some deadly disease one day, or maybe they were just guarding the beach. I wouldn't know, and I didn't particularly care to find out unless they were related to the Iblis Trigger.

_Though I still didn't like the fact that they looked a tad on the deadly side…_

When the machines seemed to thin out, I was able to focus on the landscape again, spotting a tall gray lighthouse and several colorful sails in the distance. I bounded my way over there, curiously wanting a closer look. More robots seemed to pop out of thin air, so avoid confrontation, I used a spring to jump to the top of the lighthouse, and from there, I could see just about everything.

Not a sign of despair rested in the distance; nothing but calm waves and a beautiful day as far as the eye could see. The colorful sailboats drifted across the water in small groups, people were smiling and enjoying the day on the boardwalks, and I just couldn't believe that what I was seeing was _real_.

"Incredible…" I whispered, grinding down from the lighthouse by using a rail. I twisted and flipped on the rail, gaining speed and getting a good look at the entirety of the ocean. It really wasn't so bad when enemies weren't breathing down your neck. Dolphins jumped at you from the deep and did magnificent flips in the air, splashing me with a light yet refreshing mist of water. The coolness against my skin was a much welcome departure from the brazen heat I was so used to…

Spiraling off the grind rail, I landed on a cliff, using a ramp to build some speed and run along the wall of it, bypassing all the robots trying to shoot at me from down below. I evaded them easily, but I wasn't expecting to evade was a giant whale.

"Darn it! Why now?"

It was swimming freely in the water, though it seemed intent on coming after me for reasons I could never fathom. Cringing, I barely managed to jump from place to place and still stay a step ahead of it. It was breaking down rock formations without a second thought, and even as I thought I was safe when I alighted on a boardwalk, it persevered after me, its fin tearing straight through the dock.

_Staying ahead of it now was becoming cumbersome._

Just when I thought it was going to knock me into the ocean, I ended up back on the beach, and I kept running until I put plenty of distance between the whale and I. It gave up chase as soon as I hit the sand, but even if it was after me, I had to admit that it was a very majestic creature, so I supposed I couldn't complain…

_And I sort of wished Silver had been there to see it._

**B-S**

I didn't find Blaze on my way to Soleanna City, but I did make it just in time to see the beginning of the festival. Dusk had fallen, and people were moving around in droves, trying to get a taste of everything the fest had to offer. The smell of good food permeated the air, the sounds of music had me tapping my foot, the sight of everyone celebrating as one…as much as I wanted to go there and join in on the fun, I had to stay high in the rooftops, having an easier vantage point for searching for the Iblis Trigger. He hadn't shown up yet, but with the super-charged energy of the crowd, how could anyone _not_ get dragged in?

As I sat atop the roof of a skyscraper, I couldn't help but feel like I was _home_, even if it was in the past. I felt like I had seen each and every one of those buildings every day, just without the energy and life that they had now. I felt like I knew these streets, only warped, twisted, and broken beyond recognition… I was aware that my unfortunate home was coated with flames, and that it was nothing like it was in the past, but I still felt like I'd been here all my life.

_I wondered if we'd still have this festival, even two hundred years in the future…_

I'd like that a lot, actually; it would give me something to look forward to at least. A festival to celebrate the sun…the sun hadn't shone in my time for centuries, so it was nice to see that these people weren't taking it for granted. Until now, I had thought it was just a myth, but Blaze always believed, stating that she felt like she had some strange connection to it, and she said it made her feel better about her fire abilities. I never quite understood, but I was glad that she always had something to believe in.

_But now, at long last, I did too. _

The festival ran rather smoothly from what I could see, with the princess arriving via a large and fancy yacht. I watched curiously as she reached her destination, said a few words, and lit the center piece in flames. Those flames…they didn't appear to be destructive; they more or less represented a protective strength that I'd never seen. I was bemused by this as the crowd below erupted in a ton of cheers…which quickly evolved into screaming.

"What in the world…?" I wondered, standing on my perch as the city burst into panic as hundreds upon hundreds of machines descended from the sky. I recognized them as the ones that had attacked me in the jungle; they were all originating from that one air carrier…

A man descended from said carrier on his own private method of transportation, and I pinned him as the one who created all those robots. He had a red coat, a long mustache, and a determined gaze through his glasses as he held out a hand to the princess, who was clutching something blue tightly in her hand… I could see the glint, even from my vantage point.

"Now, Princess, this way…if you please," I heard the man state above all the chaos. I tore my gaze away from him to see that _nothing_ was safe from being decimated, setting many of the buildings aflame and bringing everything down…!

_No, it can't be!_

I started to move to do what I could to help, but then, something appeared out of the crowd and took out the majority of the threat for me, moving at a speed that nearly made my eyes roll trying to keep up with it. It whipped up a ferocious wind that I could even feel from where I was, and it sent many of the robots flying away. It then leapt up onto a higher ledge, where the blur vanished and I could finally get a good look at just _what_ had moved that fast.

"My, that's a pretty snazzy performance there!"

The dust settled, the wind died down, and in its aftermath stood only a blue hedgehog…

_The Iblis Trigger?!_

The princess was trying to catch him as he moved, even glancing at me for the quickest of seconds when the hedgehog darted by the area I was at. He dashed around like he was racing lightning, kicking robots left and right with a careless grin plastered to his face. Eventually he jumped to where the princess was at, scooped her up, and whisked away, and it was then that I knew I had to give chase.

I lit myself up in green, hovering off into the air in order to have even a ghost of a chance of keeping up with him. He held the princess firmly in his arms as missiles and robots danced on his heels, but he evaded each and every one with nothing but a few crafty steps in the right direction. I was having trouble keeping him without sight, but there was no way I was going to lose him now; not when I knew what he was destined to do…

I managed to track him into the dark and empty streets away from the main square, though he no longer had the princess with him. He was just standing alone in an intersection, watching the carrier from before drift across the sky with a hardened look on his face. He had something in his hand, and it looked like the same blue glow that was in the princess' hand, but I didn't have time to worry about that.

_He was alone, he wasn't aware that I was there, and with a quick and hopefully painless strike, I could put an end to him._

"I've finally found him…" I murmured under my breath, lighting my hand up and preparing a psychic knife. "…the Iblis Trigger!"

As soon as I jumped off the rooftops to get a better angle on him, something utterly forceful ran into my side, grabbing at me and I swear it was trying to…hug me?!

"Now I've got you, Sonic!" a female voice shrieked at me, pulling me tighter into a hug as something soft and warm pressed against my cheek.

_Was I…just kissed?!_

"H-hey?!" I stammered, trying to wiggle my way out of that forceful grip.

"It's about time I finally caught you again!"

I was in the middle of questioning what sort of strange people the past had when I finally got a good look at the face of my attacker.

It was a pink hedgehog who didn't look too much younger than me, and she was currently nuzzling her cheek into my chest fur. Eventually that action in and of itself caught her off guard, and she stopped smothering me long enough to look at my face. Her jade eyes went wide with shock and she literally flung herself away from me.

"HEY! You're not Sonic!"

She shouted at me like it was MY fault that I wasn't who she was looking for, whacked me in the shoulder and promptly pushed me to the ground. I waved my arms around like a fool trying to regain my balance as she covered her face and shamefully turned away.

"Um, I'm sorry…!"

When I finally regained my bearings, I looked down at the strange girl, who had practically folded in on herself and was visibly _dying_ from embarrassment. She really must've felt bad for mistaking me for someone else, and I couldn't help but feel a little bad for her.

_I'm such a pushover…!_

"Ah…I'm…"

I then realized that this…_awkward diversion_ by this girl had made me lose the Iblis Trigger. Growling, I threw my hand in the air and exasperated.

"Where'd he go?! …argh, he must've run off!"

I shook my head and tried to control myself. My chance at saving my world had been RIGHT THERE, and I let him get away…! I had seen how fast he moved; how was I supposed to catch up with him now?!

_Blaze probably could've caught up with him…where was she when you needed her!?_

"I'm sorry," the pink hedgehog whimpered, still rather beside herself from the mix-up. "Did you miss someone because of me?"

_Um, YES._

I was more upset at how I let myself get distracted than I was at her for distracting me, so I just sighed and waved it off.

"Ah…it's okay. I'm sure the guy I'm looking for is still on the island. I'm sure I can still find him."

_I HAVE to find him…!_

"Well then I'll help you!" she cried, grabbing my hand and beaming up at me.

I did a double take and gaped at her. "What…?!"

"Two heads are better than one when looking for someone- I know that first hand!" she giggled, still gripping my hand.

"Hey, just wait a second-!"

"What's your name?!" she questioned me, and anything I might've said instantly got caught in my throat.

_This girl's thought process was unfathomable…!_

Trying to have a conversation with this girl was physically taxing, but just from the few minutes of time that I spent with her, I realized that once she had an idea in her mind, she wasn't going to let it go…and that sorta scared me.

Feeling defeated, as I had already lost this conversation, I dropped my eyes and turned away, caving in at that point.

"…Silver."

"That's a nice name!" she stated brightly, and I was actually kinda surprised that she said so. "I'm Amy Rose! It's nice to meet you!"

Amy smiled brightly at me, and still gripping my hand, she dragged me through the streets into the night, once again not even giving me a chance to get in a word edgewise.

"Ah…! Hey, WAIT…!"

_This…was not going how I planned. At all._


	3. Maybe I'm Dreaming

**SonicSonic54321: **Well, it's a double meaning, but yeah- totally intended. XD

Anyway, Sonic's is only longer because he has the Last Story (and I completely agree, Shadow and Silver have WAY better stories), plus his actual story is 2-3 chapters more than the other two. I...really can't pick a favorite though. There's a little something I like about all three of them!

* * *

Absolute Dreams

Chapter 3: Maybe I'm Dreaming

I had spent that particular night with Amy, who explained that she had rented a hotel. She wasn't native to Soleanna, and was actually visiting, promising to explain more later on. Her room was relatively small and only had one bed, which was to be expected, since she had only anticipated just her staying in the room.

"I'm sorry, I kinda need the bed…but the couch actually looks sort of comfortable!" she exclaimed, rubbing the back of her head. I just held up my hand, saying it was okay.

"No need to apologize; you've generously offered me a place to stay, and beggars can't be choosers."

_Not that I had _begged_, exactly…_

"Of course! You were in need, and I feel terrible about tackling you like that…" Amy cringed, plopping onto the bed. "Where did you say you were from again? It must be hard looking for someone in a place you've never been to…"

"I'm…from very, very far away," I explained, deciding it was for the best not to tell her that I was from the future. Who knew what problems would arise from that? "…but I suppose you could say I live in a city just like this one."

"Ooh, that must be so nice!" Amy gushed, looking thoughtful. "I used to live in a city too, but then it got flooded out and was destroyed, and now the place I call home is where my friend and her mother live, but I'm not there all that often."

"…my city was burned down, actually," I added solemnly, and Amy inwardly gasped.

"I'm so sorry…! Did you come here to live, then?"

"…in a way, yes. I'd love to live a life that the people in Soleanna do," I explained, and while Amy looked confused at my wording, she believed me. "I can't do that until I find the person I'm looking for though."

"Which I will definitely help you do!" Amy exclaimed. "It's the least I can do, really. I'm looking for someone too, you know."

"Really?" I asked, pulling up a chair and sitting for the moment. I was without a lead on the Iblis Trigger, but Amy and I both agreed that it would be easier to search in broad daylight than the middle of the night in a place that we hardly knew the first thing about. Thus, a small detour to get some rest was just fine with me.

"Yes, I heard he was coming to Soleanna to attend the Festival of the Sun, as a way to kick off his world adventure that he'd been planning, and I wanted to meet him here…but I've been searching for him all day, and I mistook him for you in the dark, and I got excited…"

"I see," I mused, and Amy sighed and hung her head.

"Yeah, a lot of my friends are actually in the area," she murmured, closing her eyes. "Sonic obviously, Tails should be here tomorrow, Rouge is somewhere on a mission…all of them have lives or places to be, and here I am, just trying to tag along for the ride…"

I was at a loss for words at this point, but Amy suddenly smiled and winked at me, recovering herself almost immediately.

"But hey, this way, if they ever need me, I'll be there to help them out!"

"That's a nice way to think," I stated truthfully, looking thoughtful. "I actually came here with a friend, but we got separated when we arrived…I really hope she's okay though, but for all I know, she may have already found the person we're looking for…!"

_That'd be like Blaze._

"So many people to find…!" Amy giggled, seeming excited. "Tomorrow, I'll begin my OWN adventure…!"

She fell backwards onto the bed and smiled to herself, while I rose from the chair and gravitated to the window. Amy watched me with her upside down gaze as I opened the door to the balcony.

"Hey, you're not going to sleep…?"

"I mostly just lay awake every night," I explained, casting my eyes at the ground. "I don't like to sleep much…"

"Why not?" Amy asked. "Everyone's got to go to sleep! It's how we rejuvenate ourselves! And it prevents dark circles from forming around our eyes-"

Recalling my reflection in the water that I saw earlier in the day, I ended up glaring at her in spite of myself, and she instantly bit her lip.

"Sorry, sorry! That was a tad insensitive…"

I softened up a bit and heaved a sigh. "…don't worry about it. Just don't let me keep you from getting some rest, all right? It sounds like you've had a long day of travel."

"Well, so have you," she murmured as she adjusted herself and got comfortable under the covers, falling asleep almost the instant her head hit the pillow. I watched her for a few seconds, then quietly closed the door behind me as I stepped into the night air, enjoying its refreshingly cool feeling on my face.

"Well, I'm here," I said to myself, leaning on the railing and looking out over the balcony. The city was still now, compared to how it had been when that man attacked. But he was long gone now, and the fires had been put out immediately…

_If only it was that easy in the future._

I knew that this was quite possibly the first time in my entire life that I could get a good night's rest without having to sleep with one eye open on the lookout for Iblis, or for my restful sleep to not be plagues by the nightmares that Iblis wrought on me…it could be the first time that Iblis wouldn't prevent me from falling asleep.

But this was also the first time I could look out over the horizon and see the stars, and the moon (though it was only half there), and the sky itself above…it was the first time I could enjoy the serenity of a city at night, and I could feel like the world was infinite, without an end looming in the distance…

To have lived like this for my whole life was my one and only dream; a dream I didn't mind having…

But going to the past? Seeing the world as it once was? Meeting nice people…?

_Maybe I was dreaming already._

. . .

Amy didn't wake me up until rather early in the afternoon, where I had eventually migrated to the couch at some point in the night and left it a disheveled mess. Amy took one look at it and burst out laughing.

"See, I knew you were really tired! Good thing I let you sleep in!"

"Ugh…" I moaned in response, waking up and slowly remembering where I was and what I was supposed to be doing. I took a look at the couch, yawned, then used my powers to shuffle everything back into place. "Don't worry, I got it…"

"Whoa," Amy breathed, and it then clicked that I had just used my powers in front of her. "…how'd you do that?!"

"I...can move things with my mind," I explained, not wanting to lie to her about everything. "I'm…psychic."

She took it surprisingly well, beaming at me as she fluffed up her own pillow and put it back in place. "Okay then!"

I blinked and whipped my head around to face her. "You're…_okay_ with that?"

Amy shrugged and finished making her bed. "Sure. I mean, a lot of my friends can do crazy things. I have friends that can run fast and teleport at whim, one that can punch through rocks and walls, one with a super-powered kick, one that can go invisible, and I even know a fox and a rabbit that can fly-"

"I can fly too," I murmured, though I didn't know _why_ I'd bothered bringing it up. Amy stepped away from the bed, grabbed my wrist, and pretty much dragged me out the door.

"Is that so? You should show me later, then!"

"J-just remember, we're trying to find someone," I pointed out, stumbling down the hall behind Amy. Amy hummed contently and worked herself into a skip.

"Yes, the person you're looking for…AND Sonic!"

_For some reason, I almost felt bad for this 'Sonic' person._

So Amy and I ventured through Soleanna City, on the hunt for anyone we were looking for, whether it be Blaze, Sonic, or the Iblis Trigger. Amy was only slightly better at navigating than I was, if only because she had time to explore yesterday morning,

"My Sonic sense should be going off soon," she said, and I raised an eyebrow at this.

"Uh, is this some sort of superpower of your own?" I asked, with her smirking afterward.

"…yeah, you could say that."

_Oh dear._

Not very many of the inhabitants could help us though, but Amy herself seemed to be sure of what she was doing, letting her heart guide her through the streets and around the mass of people. Lost myself, I simply tagged along, because it was almost like Amy could smell the trail we needed to take.

"There!" she cried, after a dreadful forty-five minutes of sprinting around. I panted and caught up with her, seeing that she was pointing toward an area that supposedly led into a desert.

_Would the Iblis Trigger really have gone this way…?_

I wasn't fully aware of his motives, but I knew he must've been particularly interested in that strange man and the princess…though I wasn't sure where THEY had went either. Before I could think it through, I found Amy marching straight over to the entrance to the desert, but two stubborn-looking guards were blocking the way in, and it looked like Amy was about to punch them out.

"My Sonic is through there, and you won't let me through…!?"

She then drew a hammer out on those two poor men, who broke their stoic façade and flinched on the spot. Rushing over, I told a psychic hold on Amy's hammer and pulled her back away from the guards.

"What are you doing…!?" I asked incredulously, and she folded her arms and pouted.

"They wouldn't let me through, but we need to go that way…!"

"Well bashing them over the head isn't going to solve anything!" I insisted.

"It'd knock them out," Amy murmured under her breath. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I placed her out of the way and walked up to one of the guards myself.

"Let me try talking to them," I offered, making my way up to the nearest one and tapping his arm to get his attention. He appeared to be a relatively intimidating man, with a solemn expression and a rigid posture. He acknowledged me with a shift in his gaze, and I shuddered on the spot. "Y-Yes… I was wondering if you could let me and my friend into the desert…?"

_Way to step it up like a man, Silver._

The soldier put a hand to his chin, looking thoughtful for the moment. "Hmmm, you need a pass to get through here, since Doctor Eggman has been spotted in the desert this morning, but Lord Regis, who issues the passes, hasn't been in his office for a while. If you really want to go to the desert, you'll have to find Lord Regis, and get a pass from him."

"…of course," I grunted, sighing to myself. "Thanks."

When I returned to Amy, I explained the situation, and she angrily pounded at the ground with her hammer.

"Eggman's here too?! Great, just great…!"

I couldn't help but scratch my head. "Um, who's Eggman…?"

"Some crazy mad scientist who insists on taking over the world on a daily basis," she explained. "He hasn't been seen in many months though, so I'm not sure whether to be surprised or not to see him here…but that just means we'll be running into plenty of his robots in the desert."

"So he's the one who had all those robots and attacked the city square last night?" I wondered out loud, already not liking this so-called doctor. Amy hefted her hammer over her shoulder and smiled at me.

"It'll be all right- as long as Sonic's in the area, he can't get away with very much," she promised me, jogging off again. "Now let's find that lord guy and get the pass into the desert!"

"Just another person to look for," I sighed, shaking my head but following regardless. This was turning into such a rigmarole…

Amy took charge now, asking around to every person about where this lord could be, although nothing really cropped up until a tall woman with caramel hair and glasses strolled up to us with an inquisitive air about her.

"Are you looking for Lord Regis?" she asked, and we both nodded vigorously. "He's so busy that he can be hard to find sometimes. The gondoliers know a lot about what's going on in town, so try asking them!"

"Gondoliers?" I asked, once we got away from the woman. "I've never heard of those before."

"I think they're the people who run the gondolas, and a gondola is a fancy boat, so to speak," Amy explained. "They must give rides all the time and hear all sorts of gossip! Let's check it out!"

To me, it seemed like a sketchy place to get information, but if Amy was confident, I didn't want to step against her. I'd almost seen what had happened to those two guards who had tried that already, and I didn't want to experience it either…

Eventually we reached the gondola dock, where Amy was keeping an eye out for someone who could help us. She selected a very sleazy-looking man, though he described Lord Regis for us and pointed us in the direction he was last seen in. We both thanked him and hurried on her way.

"…what is WRONG with these people?" I questioned. "It's like they conveniently don't know enough about anything…!"

"You think that too? I thought it was just me," Amy mused as we approached a large blue door with a very important man standing in front of it. He was garbed in a top hat, monocle, and fancy jacket, and if that wasn't the sight of a lord, I didn't know what was!

_I really didn't know what it was to begin with!_

Amy tried to explain our situation, but the man appeared to be overcome by an immense panic and didn't know what to do.

"Eggman's mechs are trying to smash down the city gate!" he wailed, and I watched as Amy's eyes went wide and her mouth melted into a sneer.

"But we need a pass into the desert!" I told Regis, and he looked at me like I suggested something completely out of the question.

"Er, now's not the best time, you know…but if you drive those horrible things off, I swear I'll give you a pass!"

I muttered something distasteful under my breath and Amy tapped the face of her hammer into her palm.

"Guess Sonic's going to have to wait- I'm tired of Eggman messing things up!"

"All this just for a pass to the desert…?" I trailed, but Amy careened off again, and I found myself heaving in exhaustion. "Oh, keeping up with her is so cumbersome…"

Still, my only ticket forward rested within the hands of that man, and if I had to trash some more robots, then why not? I'd make quick work of them, certainly.

Amy was the one who found the gate's location, though the robots were on the outside trying to break in. We managed to worm our way through the door and take fighting stances, though I wondered about Amy's ability to battle.

"You say you've done this before?" I inquired, and Amy nodded.

"Naturally! I practically do this for a living!"

She then proceeded to prove herself when she worked herself into a spin with her hammer extended, taking down all robots within her radius. After seeing that she was indeed capable of fending for herself, I threw myself into the fray, my hands glowing as I grabbed the nearest robot and smashed it against a tree. Basically all we did was smash them up, since the crab-shaped ones weren't all that threatening, but the bigger ones had cannons and ammunition, sending missiles flying in all directions. I managed to redirect them with my powers, while Amy used her hammer to batter them back.

"Just the same old tricks!" Amy exclaimed as she jumped onto one of the drones' shoulders, promptly whacking off its head like it was a teed golf ball. I instinctively gulped before directing my focus back at my own robots. They were shooting small projectiles in my direction, but I evaded them all, sending a psychic knife forward and cutting down all my adversaries.

"Take this!" I cried, lifting up any and all debris that was in the area. Amy saw me raise all of those heavy objects to the sky and scrambled out of the way just before I hurled it all forward, crushing any and all remaining robots. The activity in the area died almost immediately, and as I huffed and tried to gather myself, Amy came running at me excitedly.

"That was amazing!" she cried, looking like she was about to burst. "I've never seen fighting like that before, even after all these years…!"

"Not many people have psychic abilities here, I take it?" I asked, and she gained a thoughtful look.

"Psychic, no. But the closest I've seen would probably be Chaos Abilities…"

This piqued my interest. "Chaos Abilities…?"

"Oh yeah, sure!" She talked as if this was a casual topic in her day. "My friend Shadow can do all sorts of neat things 'cause his body is full of Chaos Energy, or so Tails claims…"

"Chaos…Energy?"

Amy saw how confused I was and gave me a sympathetic smile. "Seeing as the stuff is based on chaos itself, it's hard to pin down a concrete understanding of it. I hardly do myself."

"Sounds like an interesting topic," I stated truthfully. Amy nodded as she skipped back through the gates, planning on returning to Lord Regis.

"Silver, you have NO idea."

Her words tossed around in my head the entire way back to Lord Regis, with him showering us with his gratitude and the pass to the desert. He handed it to Amy, who smirked and waved it at me, and we both made tracks for the entrance.

"Gang way!" Amy shouted at the top of her lungs, waving her pass like it was worth millions. "WE'VE got a pass to the desert, so HA!"

The soldiers that had once gotten into our way quickly steered clear of us, with Amy holding her head high as she marched through the entrance. I wasn't nearly as confident…but at least we were making progress.

. . .

Dusty Desert…was drastically different from Tropical Jungle.

There wasn't a sign of water anywhere, nor was there abundant plantlife, aside from a few patches of grass that were regretting their choice of trying to grow there. Still, it was majestic in its own right, and seeing that it was early evening by this point, the sun was low in the sky, giving an almost other worldly glow to the sands and making them shine like gold. It was warm too; not overbearingly so, but enough to feel relatively comfortable.

As I was trying to take in the sights, Amy was scouring in front of me, taking point with a hand shielding her eyes from the waning rays of the sun. Hard to believe my second day of being in the past was drawing to a close already…

"Hmm…I sense Sonic's presence here," she mused to herself, her gaze scanning the entire area for the one she was looking for. She pointed confidently forward and smiled. "Call it my girlish intuition!"

I was getting a little exhausted, my head drooping down as I trudged after her, and while locating the Iblis Trigger was at the forefront of my mind, watching Amy dedicate herself to her search was endearing, and a little entertaining to watch. When we finally stopped for a second, I couldn't help but put my hands on my hips and shake my head.

"What am I doing?" I chuckled to myself in disbelief. Even the strain of searching all day yesterday and all day today seemed to evaporate when I took a step back to recount all that had happened after running into Amy.

_Well, her running into me. _

As I mused to myself, she turned to face me with her jade stare again and grinned abashedly. "Sorry…! I guess my knack for searching for Sonic likes to take over my instincts…I have a one-track mind sometimes, ha ha…"

I found myself not minding the detour. "It's all right, Amy…actually, I've been having a little fun just walking around with you. I'm not as privileged to do simple things like that back at home…"

_I was barely privileged to _live_ as it was…_

"I've enjoyed your company too, Silver!" she gushed. "As soon as I find Sonic, I'll help find who you're looking for! And even if I don't end up finding Sonic, I'm glad that my time in Soleanna wasn't spent alone!"

I turned away and nervously scratched my ear. When I agreed to go to the past, I really wasn't expecting any of this…I didn't anticipate being swept up in the beauty of a world with life breathed into it, or to meet someone new, or getting caught up in the lives of people of the past… it was just so _nice_ to experience all of this for the first time that I wanted to keep venturing out, keep finding new things, and keep learning something different that it was hard to keep my sights set on the Iblis Trigger.

_Mainly because I really didn't want to kill him._

I knew I had to in order to save my future, and to restore everything that Iblis had taken away... I almost didn't believe that one person had been solely responsible for all of that destruction, but I had seen the vision in the emerald, and I had seen the Iblis Trigger himself in person last night, so it had to be true…! And he had to be eliminated!

_Right?_

"Silver, are you okay?" Amy asked me, breaking through the silence that I hadn't realized was there. I glanced at her for a moment, debating on what I should tell her, when the afterglow of the sun in the sky caught my eye.

It was the same shade of orange that Crisis City was constantly bathed in, a color that once made me sick with anger…but the way it was now, making the sands of the desert shine vibrantly, it was simply breathtaking.

"This looks so beautiful…" I breathed in spite of myself. Amy seemed taken aback by my words, looking around to try and see what I did.

"What? You mean this dusty old desert?" she scoffed, stepping back a bit. I shook my head.

"No, not just the desert…" I admitted after a while, still gazing at the sky. "Everything is so great here, isn't it? The sky is gorgeous, and everyone's happy…"

I waited for her response, but I only found her watching me curiously. She got to experience this sort of thing all the time, so I guess I shouldn't have expected her to be as overwhelmed by it all as I was.

_She was lucky, and she didn't even realize it._

I looked away disappointedly, but quickly rebuilt my resolve by facing her.

"Let's go!" I called vibrantly, giving a firm nod. "I'll help you find who you're looking for. It's like you said- two heads are better than one when looking for someone!"

Amy squealed and clasped her hands together. "Ooh, thank you, Silver! I really appreciate this- you have no idea!"

I just shrugged and ran on, with Amy giggling and hurrying behind me.

_No harm in spending a little extra time here, right?_

. . .

"_Just you wait, Iblis Trigger…"_

Our search through the desert began in a temple of sorts, and by the worn interior it appeared that it had been there since ancient times. What hadn't been there since ancient times were the robots that we found crawling around.

"Ugh, hopefully Eggman isn't trying to make this place a base…" Amy commented as I crushed the drones against each other and shattered them on the spot. She was particularly distraught, and I glanced at her curiously.

"Say, you really didn't tell me much about this 'Eggman' person…"

"That's because he's a bit of a sensitive subject," Amy replied, walking on ahead through the rooms. "See, he's been bent on world domination for years now, coming up with schemes that are each worse than the last, and he keeps getting increasingly more, um, _unstable _every time we see him…"

"Wow," I whistled, trying to imagine the sort of plots that madman managed to come up with. "How has he not succeeded already if he's been trying so hard…?"

She glanced over her shoulder and beamed at me. "Sonic!"

"Eugh…?"

"Yes, Sonic always manages to stop Eggman, and any other evil that plagues the world," she explained, a dreamy look coming across her face. "He's nice and thoughtful and heroic and _those eyes_…!"

She then became a tad sad, as her energy suddenly died down.

"Still, I think _I _try too hard, because he always runs…and I don't know what else to do…"

"Is that why you're trying to find him?" I questioned, and she nodded.

"Yeah…I know he usually doesn't want me around, but I'm still his friend, and I like knowing that he's okay. He leaves so often that it's hard to keep tabs on him."

"…my friend Blaze is sort of like that," I realized, trying to make some conversation. "She likes to be alone a lot, and I can go days without seeing here…kinda like now. I have no idea what she's doing right now, but I know that she's okay, because she's the strongest person I know."

"She sounds impressive," Amy hummed, and I couldn't help but agree there.

"She's also a lot better at the whole fighting thing and doesn't panic nearly as much as I do," I added. "But in the end, we sort of balance each other out when we get down to it."

"You two must be excellent friends, then! That's important, because everyone needs a friend."

Her words resonated with me, but before I could add onto that, the door to the next room opened, revealing a drone firing relentlessly at us and a floor that was nothing but sand moving in strong-looking waves.

"Whoa, careful!" I called, stepping in front of Amy and holding out my hand. I halted the projectiles that had assailed us, then turned them right back around at the drone. The drone was felled on the spot, descending out of the air and being swept away in the sands below. We both looked over the edge and decided that we did not want to end up down there.

"How do we get across now? There's no coherent path," Amy pointed out, seeing nothing but a few mere platforms scattered throughout the sand.

"…I could fly us to the other side, but you'll have to trust me," I stated, and Amy simply smirked at the notion.

"Nice, a chance for me to see if you really can fly!" she teased, but I remained serious.

"You really do have to trust me, though."

Amy calmed down and blinked at me. "Yeah, I trust you. After all, you haven't give me a reason to not to."

"All right then," I said, grabbing her in my arms. She was surprised at the notion, but instinctively wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Your fur is really soft," she commented, brushing her fingers through a tuft that was around my neck. I flushed and gritted my teeth.

"Don't mention it."

Amy smirked at me until I started glowing sea green, with her looking down at the neon designs on my gloves lighting up as well. She just looked on as I lifted up off the ground, hovering in midair and giving her a smug look.

"Behold- I really can fly!"

I then hovered from one platform to the next, evading the shots of any robots that still lingered in the room. I gave a light push of my foot on every platform we passed, using them to gain slight bursts of speed every chance I could. I dodged the waves of sand and avoided the traps hidden throughout, even knocking down large statues with nothing but a tilt of my head.

_All of this was really draining me, but it wouldn't be for too much longer. _

Amy seemed fascinated by the drawings etched into the walls, but she was also thrilled by my ability of flight, a small laugh emerging any time I took off again. When I finally reached the other side of the room, I set her down and hit a switch to open the way forward.

"Okay, I admit it, you really can fly," she scoffed, hefting her hammer over her shoulder. "But leave this next one to me!"

"You sure?" I asked, and she gave me that confident grin.

"Positive! You got me through that last room- here is where I return the favor!"

"If you want to," I said, and Amy careened off into the next area.

**S-A**

Silver is SUCH a nice guy…! He took me running into him last night and losing the person he was looking for SO well, and I didn't deserve that level of kindness! My search for Sonic in Soleanna all day left me a tad delusional, but silhouetted against the night I could've sworn he was Sonic…but once I got up close and a little too personal with him I realized that it might be wise for me to invest in some glasses.

Still, even after offering him a place to stay for the night and lending my help toward finding who he was looking for, I felt like I hadn't repaid him yet. I couldn't help that I got distracted easily…but with the way HE stared off into space sometimes, I was totally justified.

_He was so nice that maybe even Sonic would get jealous of him!_

I mean, Silver and I had a lot in common! Friends who weren't around ALL the time, having our homes destroyed in natural disasters, being new in Soleanna…I was so happy to have met him, because I really didn't want to be alone in my vacation to Soleanna… I originally wanted Cream to come with me, but her mother had advised against it, so I went alone, hoping to have a good time anyway…

_And I DID!_

Hanging with Silver really was unexpectedly fun! Instead of me being the clueless one, I was the one informing him of what I knew, and he was such an interesting person to talk to, though he was a tad socially awkward…but I don't judge! Knuckles is kinda awkward too!

I still didn't know why he hated sleep, because he decimated that couch with his snoring last night, and those dark circles around his eyes weren't doing him any favors, but I could look past it. After all, when we first entered the desert, he had been fascinated by the landscape, while all I saw was just a bunch of sand and ridiculous heat. He didn't seem to be bothered by the heat though, as if he'd dealt with much worse temperatures, but his thoughts on the landscape and the world itself were beautiful…

_I'd only been speechless because his words reminded me of something Sonic would say_.

He reminded me of that softer side of Sonic; the side that he rarely showed his friends but we all knew it was there deep down…the side that wasn't cocky or overconfident or sarcastic or fierce…it was the side that was calm, relaxed, grateful for life, and it was one of the many things I had fallen in love with him for. Silver had reminded me that side existed in Sonic somewhere, and it made me want to find him even more so that I could love all of him.

_I was going to try to not be so overbearing though. I really have been working on that._

After Silver had gotten me out of some tight spots in the temple in the desert, I wanted to do my part too, so I hefted up my hammer and took point, marching onward to clear the way forward for my friend.

I jumped across the platforms that Silver's switch had made appear, working my way over to the next door that I opened all by myself. A long case of winding stairs greeted me, and while I was a tad upset that there was nothing exciting for me to take on, I smiled nonetheless, knowing I would prove myself somewhere down the road. Silver floated quietly after me, in a ready stance just in case things got too out of hand.

_But there was no need to worry, because I knew that Sonic had been here!_

I raced up the stairs and dashed into the next room with my hammer held high, smiting any and all robotic foes that rested before me. Silver was stunned as I smashed my way through, as not even the cloaking devices some of them had couldn't deter me!

One of said devices broke right off a robot, and I looked at it curiously before picking it up.

"That's peculiar," I commented, with Silver looking over my shoulder "It looks like it fits right into my communicator…!"

"Communicator?" Silver echoed, and I lifted up my wrist and moved my bracelet to show him the communication device Tails had crafted just for me so long ago.

"Yeah- this is how everyone in the group keeps in touch!" I explained, taking a risk and fumbling with the cloaking device. "Now…maybe if I just snap this here…YAH!"

Silver stumbled back as I suddenly lost sight of myself…literally. Where my hand once was there was suddenly nothing, and Silver was freaked out by it too.

"Amy?! Amy! Are you still here?!"

"Y-yeah, I'm just invisible, I think…!"

_Nice._

"Well, come back! This is weird!"

"Because throwing things around with your mind ISN'T weird!?"

"At least you can_ see_ it!"

Groaning, I pushed the cloaking device again and reappeared, with Silver heaving a sigh of relief. I rolled my eyes and pulled him along, trying to make up for lost time. He staggered behind me, and we hurried into the next hall, when the floor retracted in and out in a rhythmic pattern. I started to make my way through it, but Silver stopped me.

"You can't possibly make those jumps…!"

"You obviously haven't seen my triple jump, then!" I exclaimed, letting him go and preparing to demonstrate. He looked hesitant, but once I started darting across the platforms and performed many flips in the air, he calmed down and eventually floated after me.

I, on the other hand, was enjoying myself, because I never really had the chance to demonstrate my agility often, let alone impress someone with it. But as I flipped and twirled about it the air, I noticed that Silver was visibly enthralled that I could even pull off such maneuvers, and that alone gave me a bit more self-esteem.

"Okay, I'm over!" I called, once I made it to the other side. "Have a little faith in me next time, Silver!"

"I'm sorry I doubted you," he chuckled back, and I couldn't help but smile myself.

We continued our way up the temple, smashing robots, working through traps, running aimlessly through halls…if I wasn't on such a crunch I wouldn't have minded looking at the ruins more thoroughly. History intrigued me a bit, along with ancient ruins, though not many people would guess that…

"This place is a lot bigger than it looks on the outside," Silver commented.

"I know!" I exclaimed back, battering a 'bot with my hammer before proceeding. "And we've been working our way up, too! There's hardly even a floor in this place!"

The next room proved this claim- we had to work our way around the edges or alternatively fall down where the sand pits ran rampant. Silver just glided across while I balanced on the beams with precision.

"When did you become so athletic?" Silver asked, and I just shrugged.

"Well, I have to stay in shape because for Sonic, I'm watching my figure…! Plus, I've been in the Olympics, and you HAVE to be good to get into those."

He gaped at me after that.

"…yeah, that's another story."

Silver shook off his bewilderedness and opened the door to the next room, where he turned around and took a quick bow.

"Thank you, but I think I can handle it from here. Your help has been greatly appreciated."

"Anytime, Silver!" I gushed, putting my hammer away and gesturing for him to go on.

**A-S**

I was glad that Amy had contributed in the way that she had, because while I could've traversed the area by myself, it would've been taxing on my powers. While I did feel like I was finally getting better control of them, I didn't want to push myself too hard just yet. I didn't want a repeat of my state while I was battling Iblis…

_Eeeeh…_

The next room we came to was full of robots, which was a sight I was starting to get used to. They seemed to be in a specific formation though…

"Those enemies look like they're guarding that door," I stated, lighting up my hands. "Let's start by getting rid of them!"

"With pleasure," Amy replied as she cloaked herself, twirling around with her hammer and sending many of them flying with a single strike. I joined in by levitating a few rocks on the ground over to me, then using them to knock away any robots I came in contact with. The first wave had been relatively easy, but when two large drones came down from above, I inwardly winced.

"You take one and I take one?" Amy asked, though she didn't wait for an answer before whisking herself into the fray. The drones started launching projectiles, with Amy battering it all away as she made her way to the left drone. With a frontward flip, she brought her hammer straight down on its head, causing it to spark and struggle for several minutes, but then it started aimlessly firing in all directions, forcing me to evade.

I still took advantage of this, grabbing its ammo right out of the air with my psychic hold and redirecting it at the right drone, making dents in the armor on its torso. It took aim at me while Amy repeatedly battered her drone, not stopping until it had been smashed to pieces and finally stopped shooting pointlessly.

"Finish it, Silver!" Amy exclaimed, and I gave a quick nod in her direction before crouching down and closing my eyes. The drone wasted no time in stepping closer to me to get a better shot, but just when it did, I blocked the attack with a well-timed rock, then thrust it forward, knocking the drone back and pinning it against the wall.

"It's finished!" I called, dropping the rock and also letting the drone fall into a crumpled heap on the floor. The door forward finally opened, only to show us another room with nothing but sand and some sketchy platforms. Amy stepped next to me and gave me a knowing look.

"Looks like we'll have to fly across this room too!"

"I dunno, I'm pretty sure you could triple jump your way across," I retorted, though I picked her up again. "You've got the agility."

"But it's nice when you fly!" she exclaimed, and I raised an eyebrow. "That aura of yours…it's weirdly comforting."

"Well, don't get too used to it- it might not even be that far of a flight," I pointed out once I took off.

The sand in the room was not only rolling around in waves, but it was drizzling down from the ceiling, and I'd been surprised that it wasn't filled up even more than it currently was. Amy rested content in my hold, and I focused on getting the heck out of this place.

The current room was much more manageable than the previous one, though when we made it to the other side, the door appeared to be stuck. Amy leapt out of my arms and tried to budge it herself, but her strengths had to end somewhere.

"Yeaaaah, I can't get that…too bad Big isn't here."

I was about to ask who Big was, but I had a feeling that would launch her into another story, so I kept quiet.

"Hey, let me try…"

She watched as I kneeled on the ground again, this time putting my hand to the floor and putting all of my focus into my powers. The door ahead of me then started glowing green, and after a few moments of struggling, I finally managed to pry it open.

"Well, I guess that's done," I hummed as Amy excitedly applauded her hands. The door led out of the ruins at long last, and we hadn't found anyone we were looking for…but somehow, I felt accomplished anyway.

"I KNOW he came this way, I promise…!" Amy cried, looking beside herself again. "I'm sorry for dragging you on this wild goose chase…"

"Hey, I told you it's all right," I stated, and she looked at me with shining eyes. "I don't mind helping you, really. I've gotten to see more of this world just through accompanying you that I ever would have by myself."

"Still…" she trailed, glancing up at the sky. The sun had set all the way down since we entered the ruins, and now it was night again. "I can't help but feel like we've wasted so much time…"

"Time spent doing something you like isn't time wasted at all," I said with a slightly sad smile. "Though I really should be finding who I'm looking for…"

"We'll have better luck tomorrow, I know it!"

She was so confident and full of life, and ridiculously friendly to me…I couldn't find it in me to leave her to search for the Iblis Trigger on my own, because I didn't do well when I was by myself, and with Blaze still mysteriously missing, I really wanted the company…

_Besides, what was another day in this glorious past? I'd have better luck tomorrow._

* * *

**Yeah, skipped the ball puzzles because no one even likes to PLAY them- how boring would it be to read about it? Plus, I have a better chapter flow without it. :D**

**Anyway, next update is the moment we've been waiting for...Silver vs the Iblis Trigger! Ooh, I bet _that'll_ go well for him! **


	4. Dreams Don't Turn to Dust

_**Katz4**_: Awesome, glad to hear it!

_**werewolf lover99**_: I think I might've answered this question already, but I'll say yes just in case I didn't. XD

. . .

**Oh hey Silver, 'bout time you came back, but _Slowpoke Sonic_ had to play catch up cuz HE'S too slow...and he _still_ has to catch up with Shadow's story (double ironic because Shadow's only at two chapters and he's already deeper in the overall story than the others lol). **

**Anyway, we finally get to see Silver's side of the fight...it's so interesting how a mere change in perspective drastically changes the mood of the chapter. I crack up whenever I read Sonic's version (and your comments on it as well! Those were _brilliant_! XD) but here I just feel horrible for Silver. D:**

* * *

Absolute Dreams

Chapter 4: Dreams Don't Turn to Dust

"I can't _believe_ we haven't located Sonic yet…" Amy pouted the next afternoon, after we spent the morning combing through Soleanna City once again. While the search itself wasn't unbearable, the fact it was fruitless was aggravating, yet Amy was staying upbeat about it all. "Gee, I really wonder where he went…I usually find him by now!"

_What I can't believe is how I haven't found the Iblis Trigger yet._

She went twirling on ahead, and while I was debating my rather limited choices at this point, a sudden speck of blue in the distance caught my eye, and my head instantly whipped around in its direction. As if it was a sign sent from above, there, looming in the distance…was the Iblis Trigger.

He was walking casually down the street with the princess by his side, and I wanted to know how he could possibly stroll about in broad daylight with that overzealous grin on his face when _he_ was going to be the reason this word was destined to take a bath in flames…!

_Well, not anymore._

This time, he wasn't going to worm his way away from me, and I left Amy for the moment to give chase. This was too important to let pass by, so I sent a psychic blast in his general direction from where I was, hoping to catch him off guard and give me an edge. I saw his ears perk up instantly, as if his instincts were working on overdrive, and he grabbed the princess and careened out of the way. He eyed the spot on the ground where the attack had connected, and it was then that I descended from above with a sinister glare.

"I've been looking for you…You're the Iblis Trigger…" I landed before them, narrowing my gaze in the Iblis Trigger's direction. His green eyes tried to scope me out as he put the princess down, but I_ knew_ I had to have the advantage over him. "Your actions will condemn us all!"

The Iblis Trigger simply stepped in front of the princess protectively, hardly threatened by my words _or _my tone of voice.

"Who ARE you?" he asked, undeterred but still clearly confused. The princess next to him nervously clasped her hands together.

The adrenaline running though my body was almost deadly- knowing this guy standing right in front of me would bring devastation to the future reminded me that THIS is what I was here for, THIS is what I was meant to do…Amy was just going to have to wait, because I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't get this over with…

_But I supposed I could let him know my name first. Let him go down with the name of the one who brought absolution back to the world!_

"My name is Silver…and for the future of the world, I WILL destroy you! The time has come for you to disappear!"

I was expecting him to cower before me and beg for his life…but instead he became even _more _bewildered as he started gaping at me like a fish, refusing to take me seriously…!

"What is this guy going ON about?! Doesn't seem like he's here to talk…!" he screeched, shaking his head. "And what's up with his hairstyle!?"

_Oh, what?! This guy destroys the world AND has the nerve to mock my quills!?_

"Oh yeah, sure- attack my hair!" I mocked in return, my hands bursting into their sea green aura and reaching for the nearest object. "Well, how about I attack your face with a chair?!"

"What-?" was all he could stutter out before I guided my hand over to an outdoor restaurant. A table and chair nearby were enveloped by my aura before I hurled them at the Iblis Trigger, who wasn't fast enough to dodge this time! The force of the chair sent him flipping onto the ground, and THAT certainly showed him that I wasn't kidding around!

"Well THAT hurt!" he murmured, rubbing his face. Pulling himself up off the ground, he faced me with a discombobulated look. "How are you doing that?!"

"I have nothing to explain to you, Iblis Trigger!" I shouted, lifting six nearby crates over my head with a confident sneer. I then crossed my arms across my chest, causing my ammo to come crashing down on top of that vile blue hedgehog and crush him. I noticed the princess trying to hurry over to help him, so I put up a psychic shield to prevent her access.

"Stay back; this fight is between the two of us only!" I warned, now taking a hold of the hedgehog with my mind. The princess' eyes went wide as she clasped her hands together- at this point I could only assume it was some sort of nervous habit, she did it so often...

"Come on, break out of it!" she yelled instead, and he did try as hard as he physically could to get free, but there was no way I was letting up on him now…!

_Take THIS!_

"I-I can't!" I threw him down and picked him up so repeatedly and so consequently that I didn't think even _he_ knew what was really happening as he wailed, but I decided to give him a bit of a break eventually and hurled him across the yard. "Nooooo!"

He made direct contact with the ground, and I released my grip on him when he started skidding across the concrete. He only stopped when he barreled into a pile of crates…which fell on top of him. I actually found myself trying not to laugh as his head popped out of the boxes.

"What is wrong with you?" he hissed at me, no longer as complacent or aloof as he was when I first confronted him. "Where do you get off just randomly attacking people!?"

"This is no random fight!" I barked back, my eyes _and _hands glowing this time. "You are the Iblis Trigger, and therefore you must DIE!"

"Whoa!" he shouted, darting away as my psychic knife chopped right through the pile of crates. I cursed myself for having terrible aim, scanning the arena for where the Iblis Trigger had dashed off to. I then heard him cough somewhere behind me. I whirled around to face him, only to find him with his thumb on his forehead and his fingers waggling at me with a stupid grin on his face.

He was_ taunting _me again…!

_The nerve of this guy!_

"All right you insane hedgehog! Now I'm serious!" the Iblis Trigger shouted before I could speak up again, jumping atop one of the crates that I had mercilessly destroyed. "I can tell you are new in town, so I'll give you a little warning now…I. Die. Hard."

"You'll _die_ regardless!" I hissed, lifting the crate he was standing on into the air. But he was prepared for that, jumping off the box and curling into a buzzsaw-like ball. I widened my eyes at this, unsure of how to react until he bulldozed into my stomach and completely knocked the wind out of me.

"Go get him!" the princess shouted, and I could see her pumping her fist from where I was sprawled. Snarling, I pushed myself up off the ground and glowered at her, almost saddened with her choice. She had no idea of what was to come, but…

"Why…? Why do you cheer for the world's end?"

"You don't know what you're talking about," she claimed defiantly, shaking her head. "That heroic hedgehog would never be the cause of the end…if anything, he'd be the one preventing it!"

"You're the one that doesn't know the truth!" I yelled back, and she recoiled on the spot. I felt myself growing fierce, but I hadn't meant to be so sharp with her…yet how was I supposed to get it across that this monster needed to die?! I didn't WANT to do it, but what choice did I have? My world was devastated, my LIFE was devastated, and I'd been on the verge of just giving up…!

But I was told…that eliminating the Iblis Trigger could save the future…and I finally had something to believe in….and I wanted so much to believe in that…

_So why were people insisting on getting in my way?!_

"You keep her out of this!" the Iblis Trigger howled, sliding along the ground and knocking my legs out from under me. "You said it yourself- this is between you and me, pal!"

I didn't have the chance to retaliate before he grabbed me by my chest fur, hoisting me off the ground and into the air with strength I would've never guessed that he had. He gave me a condescending look before spinning around, building up speed and momentum almost instantaneously…and I almost lost my breakfast that Amy made for me earlier.

I didn't realize I was headed straight for a window until it was almost too late, and I only barely managed to avoid shattering glass because I stopped myself with my powers. My nose was only inches away from the glass, and I could see my reflection again…and I saw how scared I was…

_And I was scared, because if I couldn't bring this guy down, then that horrid future would come to be…!_

Frustrated beyond belief, I returned to the ground and grabbed as many objects as I could at once, tossing them all at the Iblis Trigger in one giant hodgepodge of things…and he simply sidestepped out of the way.

My attack landed only centimeters away from his foot.

"_Just_ missed me that time!" he taunted me, and I felt my face go red.

"How about THIS, then?!"

My whole body began glowing green, spreading my power over the entirety of the area and reaching out for everything and anything that I could. I grabbed crates, tables, chairs, bricks, _everything_, and I put it all into one giant attack that not only drained me of just about all my energy…but would be guaranteed not to miss.

_Take THAT!_

"Look out!" the princess cried, fretting for the Iblis Trigger, but he then did something that neither I nor the princess were expecting…

"Here I come!"

The Iblis Trigger came stampeding at top speed_ toward_ me, a demonic look and bombastic smile on his face as he charged. I'd been so preoccupied by putting my final blow together that I couldn't counter or even evade in time, and the next thing I knew, I had a red sneaker wedged into stomach, and not only did my large ball of accumulated items MISS…_I_ slammed into the wall of a building.

"Argh-!" I gargled out, only to be cut off by a brick from the wall landing on my head and making my eyes cross. The last thing I saw was the Iblis Trigger standing over me, before my giant sphere came crashing down onto _me_, and I had flashbacks of Iblis crushing me with skyscrapers…

"How's that for a taste of your own medicine!?" the Iblis Trigger called, and I could hear the thick mockery in his tone even as I was buried under several feet of rubble.

_This guy…he had no idea who he was messing with…as long as he stood between me and my ideal world…then I was NOT to be trifled with!_

Drawing on the last of my powers, I felt the rubble shake all around me as I tried to manipulate it off of me. I must've been controlling too much at once though, because all I managed to do was explode the pieces everywhere, but at least I was free now.

Climbing out of the debris, I found myself wheezing and gasping, glowering murderously at the Iblis Trigger. I was far too weak at this point to use my powers to my advantage, but I couldn't lose…this guy was far more experienced than I was for reasons I couldn't comprehend, but somehow, I still had to beat him… I had to; I _had to_…

_I CAN'T LOSE...!_

…going a bit out of my mind in anger, I released a primal cry into the air and threw myself at the Iblis Trigger with nothing more than my fist, imagining the sweet justice of when it made harsh contact with the side of his jaw…

But he whisked himself one step over, grabbed my fist, and forced me to the ground, like he did that sort of thing all the time. My momentum worked against me, and I couldn't register what had happened until I thudded against the concrete and defeat hit me full force.

"You're…new at this whole fighting thing, aren't you?" I heard him scoff, and as I laid on the ground, overcome with both physical and emotional pain, I realized that my one and only chance at taking this guy down was slipping away because I personally wasn't strong enough…

_It's no use!_

What a joke of fate, having the only person who could possibly be a savior to the future be a slightly unstable hedgehog who hardly had a grip on his powers…

_What a joke of fate that it had to be ME!_

I pushed myself to my knees, panting heavily and feeling my pupils shrink with overwhelming exhaustion. I was torn with my own internal choice; my heart saying to cut and run now while I still had my life to fight for another day, but my mind was telling me to stay and fight for my future, or die trying!

Blaze would've had no trouble killing him here and now…so why did I?!

My gaze rolled up to match his green one a final time, and all I could think about was that behind this hedgehog's smothering grin was the soul of a monster who would bring Iblis to light and destroy the world in an single swing…! I couldn't go back to that! I couldn't, I WOULDN'T!

He just stared at me like_ I_ was the psychotic one, but that was the trouble with being from the future…I knew what was to be.

_And I knew I had to change it._

"HAH!" I shouted to the sky, casting my hand forward and striking that gaping blue fool all the way into one of the pillars of a building across the street. I heaved and growled as I used all of my strength to hold him there, hoping to snuff out his life in that moment to end it once and for all, and to free my mind of any and all doubt…!

He writhed in my grip, and I hated the way it felt, but in a few moments' time he wouldn't be moving anymore-!

"Leave him alone!" the princess roared at me, running up and pushing me from behind. Just like with Amy that first night, I lost my balance and toppled forward, losing my focus on the Iblis Trigger and giving him another few seconds to breathe as he slid down from the pillar…

I gave the princess another downcast look as I marched over to the Iblis Trigger, bending down and resting my hand on my knees as I got a good look at this pitiful guy. I just couldn't figure him out!

"Hmph! Is this some kind of joke?" I snarled. "How could someone like YOU cause the destruction of our world?"

"What do you mean…?" he murmured partially deliriously, but I just solemnly shook my head. He wouldn't need the answer anyway when I was done with him.

"It…doesn't matter. For the sake of the future, the Iblis Trigger must be destroyed."

I prepared to take hold of him again when a piecing cry attacked my ears, and I saw the Iblis Trigger's head snap back to the princess, who was now being manhandled by one of the mechs that I could only assumed belong to Eggman.

"Elise?! WAIT-!"

The Iblis Trigger sprang off the ground, but I hit him with my powers and dragged him to the ground with a satisfying thud.

"Don't you DARE turn your back on me!" I roared, thundering over to him before he could scramble away again. "It's time I finally put an end to this!"

"Put an…end to what!?" he snapped back, facing me as he floundered on the ground. "What do you _want_ from me?! Did you NOT just see the Princess of Soleanna get kidnapped AGAIN?! I have to save her!"

I actually felt terrible about letting that happen- she was just an innocent bystander cheering for the opposite side, and with all Amy told me about Eggman, she couldn't have been in good hands…

_And I did regret it, but then the Iblis Trigger kept biting back at me with his _vile_ words and I couldn't think straight. _

"This is your fault! If you hadn't ambushed me for no good reason, I wouldn't have let her get taken away again!"

He leapt back up to his feet, overcoming my powers and shoving me, and needless to say I lost any second thoughts I was having right then and there. Anger rose in me once again, and I slammed him to the ground again with my powers…and with no mercy.

"No good reason? _No good reason?!_ I'm trying to save the world!" I yelled furiously. "I can't let you get away! I _have_ to kill you!"

"No you don't!" he asserted, face pressed into the ground with no hope of escape this time. "Nothing good _ever_ comes from snuffing out someone's life…is there not another way to solve your problems without labeling yourself as a murderer?"

…_I really didn't want to be a murderer…_

I cringed, as I had hesitated once again, but I kept myself focused by reminding myself that this was the one and only chance I had to set things right.

"I've tried many other things, but I'm not strong enough to get rid of Iblis myself…"

"…but do you _really _have to kill me?"

There was almost a touch of pleading in his voice, and it didn't sound like it was a way he spoke normally. Grimacing, I had to look away from his lively green eyes, those eyes that I want to take the life right out of… but then I turned back, protruding my fangs and feeling the slightest trace of tears sting at my eyes.

"Stop making me _pity _you! _You're_ the reason the world comes to an end, and I can't let that happen! …and if there was another way, I wouldn't have had to resort to this to begin with…"

I swallowed the last of my hesitance and lit up my hand, forming a psychic blast that would be lethal and finish the job once and for all…

_This was for the future…!_

…but I waited just a second too long.

"Stop!"

...I was in such shock at _who_ had stepped in between the Iblis Trigger and me that I completely lost my grip _and_ my nerve, my jaw dropping and nearly hitting the ground.

"Amy?" I guffawed in complete disbelief, and a sudden sting of betrayal rocketed through my spine. The Iblis Trigger took this chance to whirl around and gape at her as well.

"You KNOW this guy!?"

"We…traveled together for a bit," Amy explained to him, as if I wasn't even there and this all wasn't a big deal. "Why? Jealous of me spending time with another guy?"

_What is going ON!?_

"No, but I'd prefer if your future boyfriend didn't have an agenda to kill me."

"I AM still single, you know-"

"Get out of my _way_, Amy," I snapped at her cautiously, the moment of truth finally upon me. "This is my mission!"

She suddenly gained a brazen fury I'd never seen from her and she practically snarled at me, furiously shaking her head. "_Absolutely_ NOT!"

I was stunned speechless, not believing that _this girl,_ who I had met a few days ago, who had ran into me mistaking me for someone else and accidentally kissed me, who had offered me a place to stay when I had none, who had shown me some of the experiences the world had to offer…_this girl_ was letting the Iblis Trigger get away.

Said Iblis Trigger finally got back up from the ground, flashing a thumbs up in her direction and with a smile.

"Thank you, Amy," he said sincerely. "I really appreciate it."

"Of course, Sonic," Amy hummed, turning back to glare at me as he scrambled away after the mech. "Just leave it to me!"

I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach.

_THAT was Sonic!?_

_THAT was the guy we'd been searching over two days for!?_

_THAT was the guy I had almost killed; the supposed hero who was adored by many…_

_HE was supposed to destroy the world!?_

Amy was still in her defensive stance, eyes locked with mine and was doing her best to keep herself composed. I was still completely bamboozled by everything that had just occurred and been revealed, but neither of us wanted to be the first to speak. After all, apparently we'd been on opposite sides before even meeting each other...

Eventually Amy cracked first and gulped, disappointedly shaking her head at me.

"The person you were looking for…was Sonic?" she managed to stammer out, and I felt my heart go heavy.

"Sonic is the person who will destroy the world…?" I asked back, hardly believing that the people we were looking for were one and the same. In that way, my romping around the city and the desert with Amy really hadn't been for nothing…but now I was feeling like all of that had just been entirely uprooted and didn't even matter anymore.

"Were you planning to _kill _him?" She was slightly sobbing at this point, and I didn't know what to do now that I'd been caught. I could only clench my fist and turn away, unable to maintain eye contact with her.

"He's responsible for destroying my world!" I insisted, but she wouldn't listen to me.

"That's crazy!" she shouted right back, clenching her own fists and standing defiantly straighter. "Sonic would NEVER do that!"

"But it's true, I swear!" I cried adamantly, trying so hard to make her understand. "In the near future, his actions will cause the devastation of my world! So I MUST-"

"NO!" she howled, eyes now flooding with tears. The way she looked at me almost made me think it was hazardous for her to do so. Her look was scornful and unforgiving, and I couldn't take all that negativity glowering at me at once. "I don't believe it…"

Her voice became defeated at this point, but she remained steadfast as ever, just as she'd been in Dusty Ruins, and I had to respect her for that.

"Even if that was true…if I had to choose between the world and Sonic, I would choose Sonic!"

_Wow._

I admired her dedication, but she just wasn't seeing the bigger picture! This made me frustrated all over again and I found myself yelling at her.

"Easy for you to say!" I hissed, and she gaped back at me. "You've lived in this beautiful world all your life, blissfully unaware of what's to become of it…you're favorably ignorant, so of course you would do away with the world if that meant your own personal happiness would thrive!"

"How DARE you!" Amy was trembling uncontrollably now. "I LOVE Sonic, and a world without him isn't a world I want to live in at all…!"

"But you can't possibly protect one life at the expense of the rest-!" I persisted, but she swatted me away with her hammer, breathing heavily, and I think she was trying her hardest not to start bawling.

"Silver, I can't believe you would do this!" she blubbered. "You were so nice to me, and you seemed like such a great guy, and we had fun these past few days! I lent you a place to stay, I TRUSTED you…and you think you can still justify me returning your kindness after you tried to murder someone?! The most important person in my life, no less?!"

I could tell she was beyond reasoning with, so I didn't even try to butt in. Amy kept rambling on, more tears dropping with every word she uttered.

"I thought I had made a really great new friend, but typical stupid Amy, too blind to see what was REALLY going on-!"

"You're not stupid-" I tried to intervene but she swung at me with her hammer again, and I just barely dodged that time. "_Listen to me_! I wasn't trying to deceive you or anything! Circumstances are that the guy who will lead the world to its end is the guy you fell in love with, and we both realized that too late!"

Amy puffed hot air out of her nostrils, but she let me talk.

"I wasn't trying to deceive you, or hide anything, or make you feel terrible…"

"You still betrayed me in the end," she whispered harshly, and I narrowed my eyes contemptuously.

"Well you betrayed me too, letting the one chance I had at saving my world get away…! I _refuse_ to go home to hell, Amy!"

We fell into silence then, with Amy shaking her head and simply taking a few steps back.

"…you're still going to try and find him, aren't you?" she asked quietly, not taking her eyes off of me as if I'd vanish if she did. I hesitantly nodded.

"I have no choice. I'm deeply sorry, but this is what I must do…"

"I'm sorry too," she whimpered, back pedaling away from me even faster now. "…I'm sorry that I ever trusted you! But just know this, Silver! I will do everything in my power to ensure that you do NOT lay a hand on Sonic as long as I have a say in it!"

She then turned her back to me and simply took off, not even gifting me with one last glance over her shoulder. I held out a hand to stop her, but I didn't have it in me to pull her back with my mind. What good would it have done anyway?

I was left standing alone in the streets, right back to where I started when I first arrived in the past, only feeling _much_ worse than I was to begin with. The agitated atmosphere died down as soon as Amy was gone, and now I could think much clearer…though I only had more questions and a heavy heart.

Heaving a sigh, I plopped onto the ground, pulling my knees up to my chest and resting my head on them.

_Why did saving the world have to be so _hard_?_


	5. Conflicting Dreams

**Katz4**: Thank you! I really was trying to capture Sonic as the 'villain' there, because it's all about perspective and how everyone sees things! And such an approach wouldn't have worked if the three stories were one, so it's nice to see that my plan has paid off in small ways. ^^

**SonicSonic54321**: Yeah, too bad he has to get clonked in the head by Shadow before he changes his mind. xD

**Splatkirby: **Good ol' classic Green Day. :D

. . .

**Oh hey, Silver, glad you could join us again! Let's see what _you're_ up to while everyone else -including the guy you're looking for- are fighting for their lives in the future YOU left.**

**...that timing, though.**

* * *

Absolute Dreams

Chapter 5: Conflicting Dreams

Later that dreadful day, I found myself at the beach, apparently called "Wave Ocean" and I was just sitting on the stairs to a boardwalk, watching the waves roll over themselves in the salty water without a care. It was potentially dangerous to go after Amy at this point, and I had a feeling she wasn't willing to talk to me, if ever again… I wasn't up to finding the Iblis Trigger- er, _Sonic_ again, because I wasn't even sure if that was the right choice anymore…

_It hurt to hope, I realized. _

As I leaned against the railing and gazed out over the beach at the colorful sails of the boats in the water, my mind drifted back to my days in Crisis City, where I really had all but given up. Fighting off Iblis went from monthly, to weekly, to every day occurrences, and I was the only one with the abilities to quell his flames. But knowing that his defeat was never permanent eventually took its toll on me after a while, and I had to ask: what WAS the point?

There was nothing left in the world to save; no places, no objects, and no people…over exhausting myself for a useless cause over and over again was depressing, and I wasn't low on self-esteem enough as it was, apparently. I was ready to just spread my arms open and let Iblis take me. Blaze always pulled me back and insisted that we kept fighting, but I couldn't dedicate myself to the cause as much as I once did. So I detached, finding a lot of the pain had evaporated when I stopped caring as much, and it's a horrible thing to admit, but it's true, and apathy became my only way of escape…

_The only thing I still cared about was Blaze._

But then that mysterious stranger appeared out of nowhere and reignited my hope, igniting it like a wildfire that spread through my body and nearly consumed me in that single moment alone. I suddenly remembered what it was like to have such a dedicated faith, an unwavering hope, a drive, a dream, a desire, a wish…all of that wrapped into one! It was nice to have something to look forward to…but I also remembered how much it hurt when I realized that hope and faith and dreams alone weren't enough to change anything; you had to take action too, and no matter how much action I took, I just wasn't able to do what I needed to.

_And that was true now more than ever._

"I wonder if anyone would mind if I decided to live in the past for the rest of my life," I murmured under my breath, speaking to no one else other than the wind.

"I think I would."

I looked up to see Blaze perched on the railing above me, swinging her legs casually as I wallowed in my despair. She jumped off and landed behind me, shaking her head.

"So this is where you are. I've been looking for you," she told me. Usually I would have been much more thrilled to see her again, especially after not knowing her whereabouts for two days, but I was weighed down by so much depression that I couldn't even wave. Even the beautiful beach displayed in front of me was only a small comfort, but it still put me at the slightest of ease.

Blaze was taken aback by my lack of response, strolling up to me with concern lacing her expression. "What's wrong…?"

"Well, uh, Blaze…" I began meekly, mentally cursing myself for not having a better lead in. "To kill someone to save the world…is that really the right thing to do?"

I needed a second opinion so badly, and with Amy out of the picture and Blaze back, now was as good a time as any to get it off my chest…though I had a suspicion that Blaze wasn't too thrilled. This was confirmed when she put her hands on her hips and deadpanned.

"You're so naïve."

_Well gee, thanks Blaze. _

"Whether it's right or wrong, I can't really say…but what I do know is that if we don't take this chance, the future will remain exactly as it is."

I really didn't want to future to remain as it was, and this was the only opportunity that I had...so I nodded and stood back up, my determination rekindled after a bit of a devastating blow.

…_thank you, Blaze._

"You're right," I finally said, clenching my fist. "I may have failed this time, and let my personal feelings get in the way, but next time will be different. There will be no hesitation, and there will be no interruption. It will be quick, swift, and painless, and then we can go home…"

"…you must've had a tough time," Blaze stated after a while, and I could only nod again. "I've been here at the beach for the past few days, not wanting to go far in case you came this way."

"Smart," I stated, scratching the back of my head. "Better than what I did."

"Which was?" she inquired. I just bit my lip.

"…it's too soon," I sighed, shaking my head. I then decided to gear the conversation into a much more productive one. "But hey, I know for sure the Iblis Trigger's after Doctor Eggman! Let's go sneak into his base!"

Blaze gave me quizzical look.

"Um, base? Doctor…?"

"Doctor Eggman is the guy that made all of these crazy robots that are everywhere in the past-"

"Yes, I've seen them," Blaze interjected, and I nodded.

"Okay. Well, that guy also kidnapped the princess of Soleanna, and the Iblis Trigger's trying to get her back."

"I see," Blaze mused, catching my train of thought. "Now we just need to figure out where this doctor is keeping his base…"

"Who knows, maybe we'll learn something new," I said with a shrug, and I started to take off. I rushed down the length of the beach, wanting to waste no more time. Now with Amy gone, I could focus purely on my mission, and with Blaze back, she would _keep_ me focused.

_I just had to keep my head held high for a little longer…_

**S-B**

Some people in Soleanna had said that Eggman had first arrived coming from the direction of a place known as the White Acropolis, and sightings also claimed that they had seen the blue hedgehog sprinting in that direction.

_Hence why Silver and I were currently getting snowed on in the middle of the night._

"Eggman's base is ahead- let's hurry before we miss the Iblis Trigger!" I called back to him, my natural warmth protecting me against the snow. Silver wasn't quite so lucky, as he was shivering violently while he trudged through the bitter cold.

"So this is snow?" he asked over the howling wind, plodding behind me with chattering teeth. "…I'm not sure whether this blistering chill is better or worse than the intense heat of Iblis."

"We're not going to be here for long, and besides, coming here was YOUR idea," I pointed out.

"Well this is the best lead we've got on the Iblis Trigger…!"

"As long as we move quickly, we should be fine…"

I didn't know about any of the misadventures Silver had gotten himself into, but whatever had happened, he REALLY didn't want to speak about it. It was really bothering him, and if he didn't want to talk to me about it, I had to respect that.

_But it did concern me._

I didn't have time to pry it out of him though; if what he said was true, then the Iblis Trigger was this way too, and the window of opportunity for catching up with him would surely close soon. Maneuvering through snow certainly wasn't either of our fortes, but as long as I darted swiftly, I managed to stay above it relatively easily…Silver, meanwhile, had to keep picking himself up with his powers.

"I can't win…! It's no use…!" I heard him grumble behind me.

Helping him had to be put on hold when a pack of Eggman's drones rose over the hills, crawling over the snow with little problems and aiming their turrets at us. Seeing that Silver was still pretty…er, preoccupied at the moment, I spun at the enemies in a tornado of fire, melting a bunch of snow around us. But even after I destroyed that wave, more kept coming, and I had to wonder why.

"It's the spotlight!" Silver cried, pointing to the giant light that was looming over my head. "It's giving away our location!"

"Well destroy it! I've got my hands full!" I called back, flipping from one robot to the next, wedging my heels into each of them. He pouted at me, but then became serious as his hands lit up and the spotlight became enveloped in his green aura.

"Argh…!"

The metal of the spotlight eventually became warped and twisted, bending right out of its natural shape. His hands were shaking as he manipulated the structure, even giving a vibrant cry as a charge of his energy rocketed up the spotlight and completely burst the bulb. He then tore the thing right out of its post and used it to crush any remaining robots in the air.

"When did you learn how to do that?" I asked, and he merely shrugged.

"I guess you could say it's just something I picked up, ha ha…"

_I'm sorry I asked._

Rolling my eyes, I forged on, using the cliffs to keep out of the sight of the spotlights that seemed to be everywhere in the area. Silver struggled to keep up behind me, but I found that was because he was trying to avoid rolling rocks that were coming at us from all sides.

"Look out!" he cried, trying his best to throw them all out of our path, but there were just too many. Narrowing my eyes, I worked myself into another fire spin, plowing into the rocks myself and causing them to burst on impact. I caught Silver gaping at me as I ended up at the bottom of the hill in a fighting position, punching and kicking the rocks at precise spots to make them crumble on the spot. Silver eventually caught up with me and held off some of the rocks himself, still giving me a quizzical eye.

"I didn't know you were so strong…!"

"It's not about strength," I explained, shattering another boulder. "It's about knowing just where to hit."

Once the avalanche of rocks seemed to stop, we thought it was over, but Silver suddenly started to panic and was hitting my shoulder repeatedly.

"What, what?!" I asked, looking over my shoulder to swat him away. It was then that I saw what had him so freaked…and it was a giant snowball coming down at us. The path we were on was incredibly narrow, so there wasn't much room for escape, leaving our only option running. I snatched Silver's hand, and aiming my flames behind me to help propel me forward, I bolted off, leaving a trail of melted snow in my wake.

"Blaaaaaaze…!" Silver wailed from behind, flopping in the wind like a flag.

"Just hang on! I'll get us out of this!" I assured, whisking forward and weaving around several coming trees. I gained a lot of distance on the giant snowball, though it was still chasing after us persistently. Still, there was no way it could catch me…!

"I think I see the base entrance up ahead!" Silver announced, and I looked up to see many spotlights, a large gate, a black wall, and several robots in the distance.

"Yes, I see it too! You're going to have to not let go though, Silver!

"Wait a minute, why do you sound grave-?"

I stampeded over a Boost Pad, gaining enough speed to launch myself over a ramp, where Silver and I floated in the air. The snowball rolled over the ramp and soared for a bit too, but then gravity took hold and pulled it into the ravine below…which we were lucky to have sailed over.

Silver was too busy screaming to remember that he could have cushioned his fall with his powers, but he didn't, so he landed face first in a pile of snow, and he blended in so well that I almost couldn't find him. I, on the other hand, landed flawlessly on my feet, instantly searching the area for any immediate threats.

When I found nothing, I wandered over to Silver whose limbs were flailing about. He was moving too much for me to grab him, so I ignited my hands and put them over the snow, slowly but surely melting the pile around Silver. Eventually Silver could feel the heat, which was enough to get him to pull his own head out of the snow.

"Wow, that's hot!" he exclaimed with red cheeks, tapping his face and forehead with snow afterward. I rolled my eyes and stood back up again.

"Welcome back," I mused, turning my attention to the large black gate that was in front of us. "…it's open; I think someone was here before us."

"The Iblis Trigger!" Silver exclaimed, taking off forward. I grabbed him by the fur before he could scramble too far, and I gave him a questioning look as I gestured over to several robots that had appeared. He laughed nervously before I let him go.

"We'll have to get past these guys, first."

"No problem," he assured, his hands glowing as he glanced at me. "Just start launching fire and I'll take care of the rest!"

"If you say so," I said with a headshake, shooting a few fireballs into the air. Silver caught them with his powers, and with the energy and fire combined, he blasted them into the robots, making them implode on the spot. I went from skeptical to amused to impressed all in a matter of seconds, but I kept the fireballs coming. Silver shot them at our adversaries, and with this combined attack, we were able to clear them all out in no time.

"See, I told you it'd be efficient," he boasted, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Well, in any case, it's nice to see that you're feeling a little better," I hummed. He sank back abashedly and shrugged.

"I guess all I needed was to know for sure that you were okay…and then I knew I'd be okay too."

**B-S**

Blaze had grown quiet after I'd said that, instead gesturing toward the entrance and making her way inside. I figured that she hadn't really known how to respond, or she just didn't have a reply, so I couldn't hold it against her. I was just glad she was back; I felt so much more secure when she was around.

_And now I could set my sights strictly on the Iblis Trigger._

He had gone this way; I could feel it, and I had to put my trust in that. But if I lost him here, I didn't know how I would start the search again…for all I knew, the actions toward awakening Iblis were already put into motion, and I had already missed my chance.

_But Blaze never thought like that, and I couldn't afford to either!_

Raising my head against the falling snow, I marched on, shuddering when a particularly frosty gust of wind whistled by. I certainly wasn't used to this cold, but at the very least, my neck was warm thanks to my fur. It wasn't enough to entirely drive off the cold, but it would have to do.

A large abyss rested before us, along with a few robots perched on a few outcroppings. Blaze threw flames at them, knocking them off their perches and allowing me to float from one to the next. They felt decently solid beneath my feet, so I didn't have to worry about them crumbling under me or something. But as I walked around on one, I saw several spotlights up ahead, and I did not want to deal with any robots as long as I could help it…

"This should do it," I stated pleasantly, levitating some boulders off of the cliff and over to me. I then gave them both a hearty toss, and just as I planned, they smashed into the glass of the spotlights, shattering them and rendering the way forward safe.

"Let's go, Blaze!"

She nodded and jumped down to the area below right behind me. "Of course."

The moon and stars looked down on us from above, providing us ample light after destroying the spotlights, yet also enough shadowy cover to stay hidden from the prying eyes of any drones. I remembered how nice the sky had looked from the balcony of the hotel two nights ago, but now combined with the snow…it was really pretty.

"I've never seen snow before tonight…" I trailed, holding my hand out. The snowflakes landed delicately in my palm before melting away, so I used my powers to halt a few in the air to get a closer look at them.

"They say that no two are alike," Blaze informed me, joining me with a bit of curiosity herself. I halted snowflake after snowflake until they amassed in a large number above my hand. I brought my fingers in a little, and all the snowflakes crunched together into a snowball.

"Don't you think it's beautiful here? In the past, I mean," I wondered, twirling the snowball around like it was a globe. "They have so many things that we don't that they take for granted, and it's such a bittersweet sadness…they have the sun, the moon, the sky, fresh air, clean water, dozens of varied landscapes, seasons that cycle through with the promise of starting over again…"

I dropped the snowball to the ground, hanging my head.

"They have places to go, things to see, stuff to do, people to meet with; to share with, to spend time with, and to love…they have the opportunity to live and yet they don't realize how amazing that all really is."

"I'm sure they won't know what they have until it's gone," Blaze sighed under her breath.

"But if that's the case, then how do we know what we're missing, and why we were deprived of that which would appreciate?"

"You'll have to ask the Iblis Trigger, I guess," she responded quietly, though we both knew that there'd be no time for talking if we came across him again. I looked back up at the falling snow, frowning to myself as I was swept away in the simple serenity of it all.

"I just…want to be able to see all of this again…"

"We'll see it in our own time soon enough," Blaze assured, giving me the smallest of smiles before careening on ahead. I stared up longingly at the sky for a while longer, then hurried after her.

Up ahead was a much more open area, but still as snow-covered and robot-ridden as the rest of the White Acropolis, thus I knew we had to be closing in. Blaze and I went back to back, working our way through in a shuffling circle and taking out the drones that had us surrounded. Some went smashing into others, some were incinerated beyond recognition, and some even had a taste of both, but no drone got away under our watchful eyes.

"Whatever he's got hidden in here, he REALLY doesn't want us to get it…" I commented.

"You did say he kidnapped this kingdom's princess," Blaze pointed out. "I'm not surprised at the extra security…"

_Well it was annoying ME!_

This place seemed to go on forever, with a never ending blanket of snow laid out before us. The snowfall seemed to get heavier the longer we were outside, and it felt like a small pile was forming on my head. I brushed it all away in haste as Blaze tried to scope out the direction we needed to go.

"It's so hard to see through all this snowfall," she mumbled.

"I'd wager that the entrance is where all these robots are emerging from," I suggested. "We could try following where they keep showing up from…"

"Better than nothing," Blaze hummed, seeing the majority of the machines advancing from the northwest. She beckoned to me with a nod and whisked off again, and I did my best to stick close by her. We worked our way through our foes, climbing up and along the cliffs to get to our destination. Blaze claimed she had seen a building up ahead, and I really hoped she was right…

_Maybe Eggman could give us some complimentary cocoa. _

Sure enough, two large metallic doors greeted us, and I heaved a sigh of relief.

"Finally, warmth…!"

"Uh, Iblis Trigger?"

"That too, that too," I assured, waving Blaze off as I took a deep breath and put my hand on the ground. Blaze watched as I burst into green, the doors turning the same color before I blew them completely off their hinges. They went flying inside the base, and Blaze and I cautiously made our way in, just in case Eggman or the Iblis Trigger happened to be lurking around.

_But we found no one._

It was silent save for the whistling wind, and though I was sure that the Iblis Trigger had come this way…he was already gone.

"Looks like we arrived a little too late," I murmured dejectedly.

"Maybe we just haven't looked thoroughly enough- they could be on their way out of the acropolis now," Blaze suggested. I was about to take her up on her offer, but the ground suddenly started to quake violently without an immediate cause.

"What is that!?" I exclaimed, fruitlessly looking for the source in all directions. When I thought I was going insane, a shadow suddenly loomed over us from overhead, and I felt the color in my face drain away. "Oh no…"

_Silver's bad luck strikes again…!_

A huge gold robot descended from above, two green eyes popping up from the head on the top. Four gigantic missile launchers extended out of the torso, and it spun around, showcasing its spotlights on its underside.

"Who DARES to try and infiltrate my base NOW?!" an angry male voice shouted from the inside of the mech, and Blaze and I merely exchanged a look. "I know it can't be any of my meddling adversaries…because three I tossed through time and the other two were probably terminated by Mephiles!"

_Mephiles…?_

"I don't know who you think I am, but you're currently standing in the way of me getting to the Iblis Trigger!" I yelled back. "I assume you're Doctor Eggman?"

"Why yes, but it appears you have me at a disadvantage…" the doctor taunted from the cockpit where I couldn't see him. I stood my ground and narrowed my eyes, my designs on my gloves starting to glow.

"My name is Silver the Hedgehog! And for the sake of the future, I will stop anyone who gets in the way of my goal!"

"Another hedgehog!?" Eggman guffawed from the cockpit. "Oh, how the universe _loves_ to spite me…listen up, pin cushion! You're the third hedgehog to try and get in and out of my base alive since my arrival in Soleanna, but I assure you, THIS is where that streak comes to an end! I have some Flames of Disaster to coax out you know, and I'm a very busy man…"

"The Flames of Disaster?!" Blaze cried, shaking her head. "You're trying to coax them OUT!? Do you not know what the consequences consist of if you pursue that line of action!?"

"Of course, my dear…I will be able to rule over time itself, and no one will be able to stop me; not now, not in the past, and not anytime soon to come…!"

_Amy was right- this guy had definitely lost it somewhere._

"So, if you plan on standing in MY way, I'll have to introduce you to my guardian robot Egg-Genesis…and get a good look, for it'll be the last you take!"

The Egg-Genesis whirled around again, with Blaze and I exchanging a nod before running at it.

"A guard, huh…?" I scoffed, leaping into the air. "Just try and stop me!"

"Oh, with pleasure, boy!" Eggman barked, the Egg Genesis's four missile launchers now positioned perpendicular from the ground. They launched out several rounds of ammunition, missiles flying outwards until they locked onto Blaze and I. All the missiles flipped directions almost immediately, dive bombing over us.

"Wow, this is too close for comfort…!" I yelled, barely staying one step ahead of the attack.

"Silver, you've got to throw those missiles back at that thing!" Blaze commanded me, trying to keep ahead as well. "It's the only chance we've got!"

"I don't see YOU getting up close and personal with these explosives!" I called back, though I turned around and activated my powers on the spot. Three missiles were just about to make contact with me, but I halted them mere inches away from me. Wasting no time, I returned them to the Egg-Genesis, aiming them straight at one of the missile launchers. They made direct contact, one of the lights on the bottom going out, showing that only three missile launchers were still in commission.

"Just like that, Silver!" Blaze praised, and I stood my ground and hurled some metal crates at it repeatedly, chipping away its strength bit by bit and making Eggman furious on the inside.

"You don't know who you're messing with…!" he hissed from the cockpit, and the Egg-Genesis started to whirl as it shifted to a new formation. I waited to see what it was going to dish out, but it simply fired more missiles.

"Pitiful!" I taunted, holding out my hand and reflecting the majority of the shots. "Using the same tricks against me is futile…because I just send them back!"

"I think you've said that already," Blaze mused as I launched the missiles back, smirking as they made harsh contact against the Egg-Genesis' metallic exterior. Eggman growled loudly from his cockpit, calling upon some robotic assistance. A few Egg Gunners jumped down into the area, and Blaze instantly took the offensive.

"Don't worry about them!" she told me, already slicing her heel through one of them. "Just focus your energy on the Genesis!"

"O-Okay…" I stammered, only to start running again when Eggman sent another round of missiles in my direction.

"This'll show you!" he blared, just as I had tripped. I glanced over my shoulder to see the impending doom, so I threw up my shield and prayed for the best. I winced as explosion after explosion burst against my shield, and finally, when it stopped for just the slightest second, I bolted.

"Just let me be!" I roared, whipping around and hurling some more crates at the Egg-Genesis. It wasn't quite enough to take down the second missile launcher, but I dented another light.

"If you didn't insist on standing against me, I wouldn't have to squash you like the bug you are…! But with the power of my blue emerald juicing up the Egg-Genesis, there's no way you can stop me!"

I didn't want to believe that he was right; Sonic may have defeated this guy easily, but Sonic had also taken me down once he gained his second wind. If he could take down me _and_ the doctor…then what were the chances that_ I_ could take down Eggman?

Robots were still a bizarre concept to me, only knowing of their tech and existence through history…but to actually be in the living presence of something that could move, fight, and do things like a living being was mesmerizing…but the way Eggman used them selfishly was a whole different story.

_I guess that was one thing I could be grateful we didn't have in the future…_

I glanced over at Blaze, who was giving her all into putting dents into all the reinforcements Eggman was summoning. She was fierce, determined, and persevered to fight to the end, battling through exhaustion and showing no signs of letting up!

_And I needed to be the same._

"Perhaps I was wrong about you," Eggman mused, descending closer to me with the Egg-Genesis. "You're not nearly as bothersome as the other hedgehogs I've faced…in fact, I respect you for that! If you swear to turn around and leave now, I won't kill you. Pretty nice deal, eh?"

"…are you implying I'm weak?!" I exclaimed, suddenly catching the gist of what he was trying to say.

"Only in comparison to past people I've faced," he stated contently like it was a fact. "Sure, you can throw things at me all you want, but there's no strength or resolve in the way you fight. It's empty and almost reasonless, and it's kind of a letdown in the end…"

Who was this guy to compare me to people of the past?! They didn't have to go through the hardships I did! THEY didn't have to be born into a world that was already doomed from the start! _They_ didn't have to struggle, and fight, and battle just to make it out alive into the next day…! He had no idea what he was talking about, or WHO he was talking to for that matter! I know that I didn't succeed at everything that I did, whether it be trying to bring Iblis down, killing the Iblis Trigger, or even keeping a new friend for more than a few days…but I_ tried_, for heaven's sake…!

_Shouldn't that count for something!? _

"I'm not going to stand here and take this…!" I snarled, lifting up into the air and holding out my hands. Eggman scoffed under his breath and sent some more missiles down, but I was more than ready this time.

"Take this!" he boomed, but my whole body started glowing green in anticipation for the attack. To Eggman's surprise, all the missiles he had launched suddenly stopped in midair. I could almost hear his gasp and I looked up at the cockpit and sneered at him.

"No, YOU take this!" I hollered back, and all the missiles reversed their direction in midair and shot towards the Egg Genesis. "NEVER underestimate me!"

"Yaaaaaaah!" Eggman howled, the whole Egg-Genesis shaking with the force of the bombardment. Two of the missile launchers snapped off the Egg Genesis, but I wasn't going to let up now! I raced up to him, bringing several heavy metal crates along with me.

"Looks to me like YOU'RE the weak one!"

I thrust the crates into the other side, causing bolts and shards of metal to fly everywhere, making a small scene of chaos. The Egg Genesis was trembling uncontrollably now, but Eggman was rapidly running out of options.

"I dare you to throw more missiles at me! Put the nail in your own coffin!" I challenged. "I bet you don't have any alternatives, do you?!"

"Shut up, shut UP! I'm thinking!" he bellowed at me. Blaze came running up to me and eventually smacked her forehead.

"We're never going to get anything done at this rate," she scoffed, suddenly crouching down. "Silver, I want you to throw me at the last missile launcher."

My jaw went slack.

"WHAT?! Blaze, the only living things I've ever used my powers on were Iblis' monsters, if you want to count them, and the Iblis Trigger himself…and truth be told, that's already not a pleasant experience! Knowing that I'd be depriving you of your free will-!"

"It'll only be for a few seconds, Silver," she insisted, unwavering as ever. "Besides, I trust you. You know that."

I felt my face blanch.

"Yeah, well, the last person that trusted me I managed to betray without even trying…"

"If you're done mingling amongst yourselves, I've really got places to be," Eggman intervened, and the Egg-Genesis started to rumble again. Biting my lip, I took hold of Blaze, pulling my arm back before bringing it forward like I was throwing a spear. I launched her at the missile launcher just as she had asked, wincing the whole way through it.

"Let's finish this…!"

She remained as stoic as ever, working herself into a graceful and fiery pirouette as she spiraled toward the Egg-Genesis. Eggman really wasn't expecting anyone to land on his creation, but Blaze knocked right into the missile launcher, snapping it off of the rest of the machine.

"Has anyone told you that you're a HORRIBLE man?!" Blaze hissed, shooting fiery holes into the Egg-Genesis' armor.

"Guilty as charged," Eggman deadpanned, only to start screaming when his inner cockpit burst into flames.

_Wow, I'm so glad I've never been on the wrong end of her fist…!_

"You haven't won yet!" Eggman boomed, swept up in a second wind. Blaze kept rampaging on the machine's exterior, but from where I was, I could see that the large orange orb of the underside was starting to glow, and I instinctively dove for the snow when it spontaneously fired a high intensity laser.

"Holy crow…!"

"Silver, watch it! He's coming in!" Blaze yelled at me from above, leaping off the top of the Egg-Genesis and tumbling back down to the snow.

Sure enough, the Egg-Genesis was slowly descending…dead aimed at me.

"If I'm going down, I'm taking someone with me!" I heard him cackle. I didn't have time to question his sanity; I had to get out of the way and get Blaze to safety.

The Egg-Genesis was sparking dangerously, and Blaze was still falling. I rushed out to try and catch her in my arms…but then I remembered I was psychic. Using my powers to pull her down closer to me, she pointed behind me, and I knew that the Egg-Genesis was right above us. The impending sensation of the building coming down on us overtook me again, but this time, I manipulated a huge dome of snow and prayed it would at least lessen the impact.

"What?! No…NO! This can't be happening!" he howled, just as the Egg-Genesis burst around us. My dome didn't cave in, thank goodness, but the sound of destruction around us was deafening. "Forget them, I still have the-"

"Prisoner has escaped from cell block C-17. All patrolling guards begin searching immediately."

The sound of alarms blaring back in his base must've served to startle him, because he hit the eject button out of the remains of the Egg-Genesis in the blink of an eye, flying off in a smaller floating craft.

"NOOO…! Why can't anything ever go right…?"

Blaze and I just traded glanced between us.

"Well that took way took long…" I murmured, removing the dome from around us. We watched as Eggman careened back into his alarm-blaring base, with whatever was left of his creation laying in pieces along the ground…

_Including something that shone the most brilliant shade of blue…_

The two of us walked over to it, its glow catching my eye and leaving me feeling like I'd seen it before. I picked it up, finding that it was a gemstone that nearly filled my hand, and it sent a shockwave of power rocketing up my arm.

_Like with the purple rock that had shown me the vision of the Iblis Trigger…!_

"That's a Chaos Emerald," Blaze explained to me softly. "It's said that this gem can transform your thoughts into power. Collect seven, and a miracle is supposed to happen."

She started walking off, smiling lightly at me.

"…keep it as a lucky charm."

She made her way out of the base, but my gaze locked onto the Chaos Emerald.

"It…transforms your thoughts into power, huh…?"

As I mulled over that, I suddenly remembered where I had seen it…the princess; she had it at the Festival of the Sun…

_And the Iblis Trigger had it right before he got away from me that first night…_

…but if he really HAD been in the White Acropolis, and the emerald was still here…then whatever happened to him?

* * *

**So Eggman wasn't _really_ in Silver's Egg Genesis fight, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity for some banter. Silver just chucking stuff at a machine doesn't make for a very engaging battle. :P**


	6. Following Someone Else's Dreams

**Well, time for Amy's take! Which is...interesting (and only robots were harmed in the making of this chapter).**

* * *

Absolute Dreams

Chapter 6: Following Someone Else's Dreams

_The things I do for love…_

It was just as cold and unforgiving outside as I felt on the inside, moving quickly through the snows of White Acropolis trying to follow Sonic's trail. Many people had seen him sprinting from the warehouse district to the tundra, so naturally I made my way there immediately! With how fast Sonic moved and how determined Silver apparently was, I couldn't afford to waste a single second…!

Silver crossing my mind again made me scowl. My eyes still hurt from crying…

To tell the truth, hearing someone openly declare that they were going to kill someone you cared about was terrifying! I'd already experienced that once up on the ARK, but that had been Eggman; ridding himself of Sonic was some bullet point on his to-do list. But Silver…someone I'd been friends with, someone I trusted…when someone like HIM declared such vile things? It_ really_ shook me up.

_Except that this time, there was something I could do about it._

"I meant what I said," I hissed through chattered teeth. "I _will_ do what I can to help Sonic…"

Argh, to think I led Silver right to Sonic -unintentionally, of course, but it was still true. Sure it took a few days to actually find him, but if I'd only _known_-!

A spotlight suddenly swept over the snow, prompting me to duck behind a wall to avoid being spotted. A thousand thoughts ran through my head, trying to come up with ways to destroy the thing, but even with my hammer it wasn't exactly the simplest approach, knowing getting busted would saddle me with very much unwanted attention…

"Hmm, what would Sonic do?"

…_jump IN the spotlight and attract as much attention as possible._

"Okay, scratch THAT plan," I murmured quietly, taking another look around. "Um…there's a buncha robots around…OH! That's right!"

I lifted up my communicator and finagled with the cloaking device I'd found in the ruins. It might've freaked Silver out before, but it will be my saving grace now…!

"Looks like Espio's not the only one that can camouflage!" I sang giddily, smirking as I vanished from the scathing sight of the spotlight. Now safer, I darted across the snow and tried to cover as much ground as I could before the effect wore off. The robots weren't all that perceptive, especially with how loud the snow was crunching under my boots, but I wouldn't complain. Still, even running was drawing too much attention to me…

"Hmm…oh, HEY!"

A conveniently abandoned buggy was sitting off to the side, like someone had haphazardly jumped out of it beforehand. Curiously, and still invisible, I climbed into the driver's seat. It seemed to be in relatively decent shape, and the keys were still in the ignition…so I shrugged and turned it on. The engine purred, I grabbed the steering wheel, and I pressed my foot to the gas-

"EEEEEEEEEEK!"

...Apparently it was a very _sensitive_ machine, because I'd barely pressed it when I went flying! I rocketed across the ground, ending up in the open lit area anyway and drawing the attention of the robots. Breaking wasn't working, so I just tried to keep the machine steady as hordes of robots poured out of nowhere to come and attack me. While I had a few close shaves with some missiles, I mostly just plowed through them with the side of the buggy. Shrapnel flew everywhere, and I was dying to just drive by one and whack it over the head with my hammer, but I had to maintain my steering.

"You can't touch meeee!" I cried, making excellent progress and with hardly a scratch on me! It even turned out that the buggy was outfitted with some weapons as well, and once I –accidentally- discovered that, there was no mercy!

"For Sooooooniiic!" I shouted into the cold night air, driving with unprecedented road rage. I admittedly made a few sharp turns that were, er, _sketchy_, and I'd almost tipped but I firmly believe that it was the buggy's fault! Like, maybe it was glitchy or something….if buggies CAN be glitchy!

Anyway, I cleared out a fair amount of Eggman's machines, and demonstrated a driving ability I wasn't entirely aware that I had! And yet, I managed to get to the true entrance of the base in one piece and that was all that mattered. As I jumped out of the buggy and padded my way in, I noticed that the door had been forcibly manhandled.

"Well, whoever broke in before me was kind enough to leave the way open!" I chirped, gleefully skipping in. The immediate corridor was devoid of any life or movement, and placing my hand on the metallic wall revealed that it was incredibly cold to the touch. Recoiling, I just quickly started making my way through hoping to catch a sign of Sonic.

"Hmm, I don't hear any witty banter…or anything at all, really," I remarked. "Not even any robots!"

Well, even if the immediate area was empty, I was seriously _lost_, and for a fleeting moment I wished Silver was there. We'd managed to get through the ruins of Dusty Desert together, but now I was in enemy territory, and by myself no less!

"I've been trying to find Sonic…but now I think I'M in trouble…!" I was so gung-ho in trying to help Sonic that I hadn't realized the potential danger I put myself in, and one wrong move could've seriously put me in jeopardy! "Maaaybe I should just walk away real quietly before they spot me…"

I really didn't want to bail now, though. I'd vowed to Silver, and I was already a drag on Sonic enough as it was…I just wanted to do at least one thing to help him out. Anything at all so I could be even slightly useful-!

"Gah?!"

In the next moment, I came centimeters away from being slammed in the face with a large heavy door, sidestepping just in time to come face to face with a tall girl with short hair and an elegant dress. Her eyes widened at the sight of me as a hand flew to her face.

"Oh…?!"

I was trying to figure out what in the world a girl like her was doing in Eggman's base-_ I_ barely wanted to be there as it was!- but suddenly this loud droning wail that went off and I felt my ears press to my head to escape the sound.

"Prisoner has escaped from cell block C-17. All patrolling guards begin searching immediately."

"Oh dear…" the girl winced under her breath, appearing remarkably fraught with worry. I could tell she definitely didn't belong here, nor did she want to be here…and while I wanted to stay back to thoroughly search for Sonic a little more, the problem at hand was much more urgent. I doubted she could work her way out alone, as I barely could…so I made up my mind!

"This way! We're not too far from the exit, you know!"

I latched my hand around her wrist and careened back the way I'd came, trying hard not to trip as I made my escape.

"O-Okay!" the girl squeaked, shaky in my grip but managing to stay behind me. It was almost like she'd been practicing running lately, and I had to give her credit- those look like some HARD heels to be running in! Whoever trained her trained her well!

In any case, I'd meant to turn on my camouflage in the hall, but with this girl suddenly in my possession and the amassing robots already locking onto my location, it was a bit of a lost cause. I heard many bullets whiz by us, and I was SO glad that I was fast enough to outrace them, because we would've been Swiss cheese otherwise! Although, maybe I could've attributed that safety to the gold shield suddenly surrounding the two of us-

…_wait, WHAT?!_

Glancing over my shoulder, I caught sight of the girl looking absolutely beside herself, breathing heavily and apparently being the source of the shield that had enveloped us. Seeing how I calmly reacted to Silver's physic abilities, I really shouldn't have been surprised, but…this was a HUMAN girl doing that!

"Whoa, how are you doing that?!" I couldn't help but ask, although she only gave me a nod in return.

"I hardly know myself…"

_Fair enough. _

"Well, get behind me!" I exclaimed, pushing ahead of her and brandishing my hammer. The robots were getting to be too abundant, and I'd have to fight our way out! "We can't be on the defensive all the time!"

Taking a deep breath, I clenched my hands around my weapon of choice and threw myself at the robots, ready to smash some heads.

"Man, I came all the way here, and the place is full of bad guys! Come get a piece of Amy Rose, clunkers…!"

I let out a battle cry and darted along the wall, reaching the peak and springing off. I instantly swung my hammer forward, sweeping away an entire row of robots and leaving them as shards of metal and useless gears. The one that had survived the smashing had flown backwards, crashing into the ones behind them. I skid a bit upon landing, grinning as machine after machine fell under my might. They were all currently blocking the exit, but not for much longer! I jumped to dodge a surprise attack, flipping forward and promptly whacking my adversary. Apparently its friends didn't like that, because they were surrounding me at all sides now! Rolling my eyes, I extended my hammer and spun around like a lethal tornado, and in the midst of it all I thought I'd seen the girl grimace at the sight.

"The coast should be clear for the time being," I explained when I was finished, taking her hand a little less abruptly this time and heading through the path I cleared.

"Can I ask what you're even doing here?" she asked me, although I'd been wondering the same thing about her! "Not that I don't _want_ you here, but seeing you was so unexpected-"

"My friend is in danger, and I managed to track him to Eggman's base, but I think he's gone already…"

He had to be- if he WAS here, he'd have been tearing down the halls and tearing through robots too. That, or I at least would've heard him…I just hope Silver wouldn't beat me to him.

"Yeah," the girl spoke up, almost sounding as dejected as I did. "There's no one left here but the doctor and I…"

Hearing her saddened reminded me that I needed to buck up as well, so I threw her a quick smile and a nod.

"I know, and while I may not have gotten here in time, at least I didn't leave empty-handed! Why's Eggman got you all locked up anyway? Usually he only kidnaps people for bait."

_Such as myself. _

"…I guess I have something he wants," she muttered, not wanting to go too deep into detail. "But I absolutely refuse to give it to him, so he's keeping me here until I comply…"

I found myself beaming at the notion as I lifted my hammer again and slammed it into the dead-end door we'd come across. It squealed before folding in and snapping off its hinges, where I then punted it out of my way and led my new friend out.

"Good girl! About time that mustache monkey realized that his threats mean nothing to anyone!"

I motioned for her to follow me, until I realized that I must've taken a wrong turn somewhere, because I couldn't find where the buggy was! I scrambled ahead to scope it out, squealing in excitement when I spotted it.

"To the car!" I leapt into the driver's seat and excitedly patted the seat next to me. "Can you believe I found this thing discarded in the middle of the snow? How lucky am I?"

"Very, and so am I, I suppose…" She blinked curiously at me as she trembled where she stood. I adjusted out of my own seat and guided her into hers. But as I plunked back down in front of the wheel, I couldn't help but eye her and wonder why she was shaking so uncontrollably. It was a bit cold, but nothing horrendously-

"Oh man, you're a human!" I yelped, having already realized that but only now REALIZING.

"That wasn't obvious before…?" she uttered afterward, and I suddenly felt terrible for dragging her into the cold unprotected!

"No, no, it just completely slipped my mind that you're completely susceptible in this cold!" I explained, immediately panicking. "Especially in that dress- it looks good, don't get me wrong- but MAN!"

"I'll be fine," she confided, but I demanded that I find some way to keep her warm. I shuffled around in the back of the buggy, hoping to even find just a tarp or a rug or SOMETHING.

"You are not going to turn into a popsicle on my watch!" My hand eventually wrapped around something wooly, and when I pulled it out my face lit up in delight. "Ah ha! Here we go- wrap yourself in this!"

I tossed the green blanket at her, which she caught and studied perplexedly for a moment before promptly wrapping it around herself. To me, she looked a bit like a human burrito, but I could see the instant relief on her face. As I sat back down, she beamed softly at me.

"Thank you," she told me, but I shook my finger at her.

"Don't thank me yet! We've still got to get out of here! Now, how do I start this thing again…?"

After rubbing my hands together in thought, I proceeded to reach for the key and give it a twist again, grinning widely when the buggy roared to life once more. However, my small moment of kindness proved to be a little too time costly, for Eggman's next wave of minions had thundered outside and started shooting like mad! But I knew what do to- I plunked my foot on the gas and blasted off, my partner in crime screaming the whole way. I couldn't tell if it was from the speed or the robots shooting at us, but I'd just finished doing this- I was totally an expert now! To calm our nerves, I tried talking to my unexpected company.

"Woo, what a rush! So much for me getting out there quietly!" I chuckled, turning to my right. "Are you all right, Miss?"

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks to you," she stated with a dignified air. "But…you said you were here to help out a friend?"

"Yeah…" I frowned slightly as I nodded. "I got into a huge misunderstanding with a guy I met a few days ago, and it turns out he's…not nearly as nice as I thought he was."

It just turned out that he's actually a killer wannabe, and yet…despite that, I feel like I might've gone a little too hard on him. Sure, threatening to kill Sonic wasn't a light statement at _all_, but I'd been so shaken up by what that would mean that I might not have been thinking entirely clearly. My love for Sonic may have blinded me once again…and you know what? I still didn't entirely hate Silver. ...I was still pretty upset, but even if he did have some pretty dark intentions, he had still been nice to me, especially when I didn't deserve it.

"I'm so sorry…" the girl whispered, pulling me out of my personal musings. I put on a Poker face to hide my quivering lip, eventually waving it all off.

"It's…all right; I'm just glad that I was able to save my friend before it was too late." I say up a little straighter and tried to smile again, reminding myself of my new mission. "So now, I'm trying to find him again, just in case that crazy lunatic comes back."

"I'm trying to help out a friend too," the girl elaborated, eyes looking spacey as she reflected. "I'm not nearly as incredible as he is, but I'm trying to do what I can too."

_I shook my head- I could definitely empathize. _

"Oh, I hear that. For the longest time, I barely did anything to contribute to the cause, never realizing the gravity of what was going on around me…" I explained, with the girl listening intently. "But then I had to watch someone close to me almost get killed, and it was at that point that I realized I need to be more independent and active."

I needed to be more like him, otherwise I'd never learn to keep up! Even if it meant learning to let go when I needed I to-

I must've started getting a little TOO dreamy about Sonic, because I nearly smashed into a rock. I maneuvered around it at the last moment, but the buggy nearly tipped again, and the girl gulped loudly and winced like no one's business. Getting back on track, I shook off the small mishap and continued my spiel.

"So ever since then, I've done my best to be supportive whenever I can, and it's really done wonders for me…! I've been less of a burden, and it feels great! Not everybody sees it my way yet, but one day, I'll be so awesome they won't even recognize me!"

She lightly giggled at me, the sound laced with a bit of admiration. "I wish I had your kind of conviction."

"Everyone's got it!" I told her while beaming. "It just takes some longer to find it than others, that's all."

"Well, how did you find it?"

…_admittedly, I didn't think I entirely found it yet. _

I tried to pinpoint the exact moment when I became so dedicated, but I realized I couldn't explain without going into detail about all of my past adventures. I felt a tear or two of nostalgia sting my eyes, but I quickly blinked them away and returned my smile.

"Well, it's a bit of a long story. You see…"

And so I began at the point where my life had changed drastically…a day after I'd fallen in love with the thought of a world renown hero, and turned to the tarot cards to write myself into the latest chapter of his life…

. . .

I guess my life story was a little longer than I thought, considering it was morning by the time we finally arrived back at the entrance to Soleanna. I thought for sure the girl I'd been with would've fallen asleep at some point, but she was alert and at the ready at all times…though I must admit I yawned every now and then myself, hee hee.

We'd ditched the buggy back in the tundra, and we were now walking through the sun-drenched streets of Soleanna. The girl seemed relaxed by the motion, while I was skipping happily beside her. After all, I had performed a rescue! The usual kidnappee has become the kidnapping stopper! …or something along those lines.

"Thank you so much for rescuing me," she suddenly spoke up, leaning over to me. "I am SO grateful!"

"Aw, you would've done the same for me," I stated as I sashayed in front of her. It then hit me that I didn't even know her name…! "To think, we went through all that and we haven't even introduced ourselves! I'm Amy, Amy Rose!"

"That's a really pretty name!"

_Well, it IS pretty cute! _

"My name is Elise…the third. I was named after my mother, who was named after my grandmother."

Ah…Elise? The Third?!

"Elise…wait, you're not _Elise_, THE princess of Soleanna, ARE you?!" I stammered, suddenly overwhelmed by the implications.

"…yes, that's me," Elise murmured uncomfortably. "But really, I'm just a normal girl like you-"

"Oh, don't worry! If you don't want any royal treatment, I understand," I assured quickly, not meaning to give off the wrong vibe. "I was just going to say that I bet someone was already on their way to rescue you!"

"Um, yes, but someone I know said to me…that nothing starts until you take action." The ends of Elise's mouth turned up slightly. "So, I decided to heed his advice!"

"Hmm…" I mused, walking around thoughtfully. Whoever had assisted her before, she really did hold high in regard. So I couldn't help but wonder…"Saaaaaay, you wouldn't happen to have _feelings_ for this person, would you?"

I thought her eyes were going to_ completely_ fall out of her head.

"What?! How could you possibly deduce that from me taking his advice…? But no, of course not-"

_Oh, she's _totally_ got the hots for this guy._

"It's okay! Love changes everything!" I insisted, falling into dreamy thoughts about my own lovesick feelings. "It feels like every little moment in your life is huge, doesn't it?!"

I stared back up at her hoping to instill my point, but she seemed, well…_overwhelmed _by it all. She didn't respond immediately either, so I grabbed her wrist and tried to get a better story out of her.

"So, what does this guy look like? Have you already been on a date with him?"

"Well, no." Oh, she was quick to answer NOW. Unrequited love? Ooh! "I can definitely say I haven't really-"

"A one-way love! That's so cute!" I gushed as I twirled around gleefully. "Come on! There's no need to be shy! Look, you're a princess and you're super cute. THAT guy's the lucky one!"

She appeared a little hesitant, but that was okay. Not everyone could be open about love like me! I still could understand where she was coming from, so I took her hands and beamed at her, trying to coax a smile out of her.

"I also have someone that I'm pursuing too. I wish us both luck!"

Finally, finally, _finally_, Elise smiled, giving me a small nod as well. Seeing this made me giggle, and eventually started laughing too- almost like we were old friends despite just meeting the night before! However, I couldn't stay with her for too much longer. Silver was still giving chase to Sonic, and if anyone could pick up the trail again, it was me!

Elise being the princess and all, I happily escorted her back to the castle. Oh, how I'd LOVE to see what was inside, but I had to go…and I'm sure she would have some busy princess things to attend to that I couldn't even begin to fathom. We parted at the base of the stairs, with me waving and watching as she elegantly glided up the many stairs. I really hoped that she would find her happiness…

_And while I wanted to find mine too, right now I'd simply be happy if that happiness was kept alive…_

* * *

**Ah, Amy, alas...time has not treated you well, has it? Just like Knuckles! Your story won't end here, though- just hold on tight! Your personality still has much to offer...****And speaking of personality, I just wanna say I _totally_ called Amy being interested in archeology waaay back in my Unleashed adapt, so take that, Sonic Boom! _I'm_ ahead of the times. :P **

**Anyway, now we've gotta wait for both Sonic and Shadow to catch up again before we hear from Silver once more, but I THINK that'll be his last little gap before he's consistent again. We're about to enter the fun stretch, hee hee...**


	7. Dreaming of Times Gone By

**SonicSonic54321: **Apparently she researches history, studies ancient tombs, and can read ancient languages now! ...then juggles and sings in her off time.

**Katz4: **Well, think about it- Elise didn't_ really_ start getting all mushy with Sonic until after her little talk with Amy! The irony...and I'm glad you're enjoying Amy! She unexpectedly fun to write about. XD

**werewolfl99: **I mean that it's the point where nearly everyone involved in this game screws themselves over. STILL not quite at the chapters where I'd like to make my point though...

* * *

Absolute Dreams

Chapter 7: Dreaming of Times Gone By

Blaze and I were now hopelessly stuck on what to do the day after our little venture through White Acropolis, with the only trace of the Iblis Trigger now being my shiny blue lucky charm. We returned to the city late last night, and since I figured was no longer welcome in Amy's hotel room, we slept on a park bench, and luckily enough we weren't disturbed.

"We have to find him today. It's the Day of Disaster," Blaze murmured to me as we rounded the block for the fifth time that afternoon.

"I know, I _know_," I told her,_ still_ trying to rub the sleep out of my eye. It was the fourth day of being in the past for us, and we were no closer to nabbing the Iblis Trigger than we were in the future. I wanted some sort of sign; something to tell me what I needed to do…!

And then there _he_ was.

We hadn't seen him since he brought us to the past in the first place, and we STILL didn't know his name. But there he was, our mysterious benefactor standing smack in the middle of the city square. Those slotted green eyes of his weren't starting at anything in particular, but he must've sensed us coming because his unblinking expression eventually turned in our direction.

"You," I breathed, cautiously taking a step forward. "You…are Mephiles, aren't you?"

Blaze looked at me questioningly as Mephiles' unmoving gaze became even more intense, though he kept it aimed at the ground.

"I never told you my name…"

"I learned of the name Mephiles yesterday," I explained, subconsciously readying myself in case I needed to act. "Since that was a name without a face and you were a face without a name, I decided to take a stab in the dark."

He seemed offended by my latter comment, but if he was he didn't show it. Seeing as he wasn't currently hostile, I pressed him with questions.

"Tell me, who IS the Iblis Trigger? Why does he want to destroy the world?"

_Does he even WANT to…or does he simply _inadvertently_ cause it?_

"Why does that matter to _you_?" Mephiles' head lifted up, along with his arm to point at us, but he still didn't look at me. It was really unnerving. "Unless you complete your task, your future will remain the same….forever."

As Mephiles' head finally rolled over to acknowledge us, I realized that he had said the exact same words Blaze has said yesterday, though even now it appeared that even her bold confidence was wavering just a little in the face of Mephiles.

"He's currently at the terminal station. It's now or never if you want this."

He stepped back and gestured us in the right direction, and while that's _exactly_ the kind of information we were _hoping_ to get…something about the whole situation felt wrong. When we didn't answer Mephiles immediately, he merely scoffed and vanished into thin air, without a sign of him ever having been there. I was still frozen to my spot, internally torn…

But Blaze stepped forward with her hands on her hips, confidence restored, and nudged her head in the direction of the terminal.

If Blaze was sure, I was sure too…

But I still had a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

. . .

Guards had been swarming all over in front of the entrance to the station for whatever reason, and after the incident trying to get into the desert with Amy, I definitely didn't want to deal with those guys again…thus I managed to sneak past the guards and was currently sprinting through the forest along the tracks as fast as I could.

_Which, _still_, wasn't all that fast._

Blaze, however, must've gotten caught by the guards or something, because she had once again vanished. Part of me wanted to go back and see if she was fine…but then the other part of me was saying that she was MORE than capable of taking care of herself, and if I went back she would've probably had all the officers handcuffed to a pole and would reprimand me for losing our lead on the Iblis Trigger.

_Her rage or the Iblis Trigger's…I knew who I'd take my chances with._

Therefore, I once again found myself alone, but I was ready for the Iblis Trigger this time. Amy wouldn't be around to save him this time, AND I had the jump on him, since I knew he was there, but he wouldn't be suspecting me…!

_Element of surprise, baby._

"I'm not going to let the Iblis Trigger get away!" I cried, raising a fist to the sky. "Not this time!"

The train tracks were actually rather askew and contained many dangerous drops. I couldn't possibly think this was safe, but considering that Eggman's robots were around, that meant Eggman was too, and that in turn meant Sonic!

"Still doesn't make this any easier for me," I remarked, using my powers to flip all of the drones off the edge. In actuality, I wasn't anywhere near the tracks- I was taking a less direct route, flying over the gaps and using lifts with boxes balancing them to make my way through. Intuition told me Sonic would probably prefer taking the straight forward yet dangerous route, but I wasn't one for risk taking.

_After all, playing it safe has kept me alive all these years. _

That mindset also sort of extended to my powers- staying back, fighting from afar, using objects as an extension of myself…even now, as I made my way through the droves of robots, I could never fully take them on in close combat. Besides, who would expect a crate to come flying at them when they were expecting fists?

The enemies were many, but I quickly found that I didn't have to confront all of them. A good chunk of them were situated on a series of conveyor belts, leaving them incredibly vulnerable to being pushed right off the edge, _if_ they were to move in the opposite direction. Still, I let them be, carefully timing my jumps as I bounded over the obstacle to avoid the same fate myself. I ended up landing on another scale, which had been empty and now tipped dangerously with my weight.

"Argh, not these again already," I sighed, gripping onto the edge before I fell. I then used my other hand to guide a series of crates over to me, then dropped them all on the other side of the scale. It took a few moments to balance out, but after that, I darted across, then slid to the ground to avoid an onslaught of projectiles from some drones ahead. Growling, I psychically lifted the wooden planks beneath them, tossing them and the robots into the air and out of my way.

"I'm actually getting a little better at this," I stated pleasantly, picking up a crate and twirling it around in place. "The Iblis Trigger's not gonna like it when I pin him down for good this time!"

Nothing could stop me! Not any of his friends, not these ridiculous robots, and certainly not Sonic himself!

"HAH!" I shouted, throwing my hands up and summoning a ring of metal crates around my person. I then launched myself toward a trio of robots, throwing my crates at them one by one until they were nothing more than junk and shrapnel.

Feeling empowered by my small victory, I took off toward another scale, bringing some crates along with me. I then slammed them straight down on the other side of the scale, sending my side flinging upward and me flying into the air. I soared across the railway incredibly fast, keeping myself up with my powers until I reached more solid footing. I ended up in a very worn down building that looked like it had seen better days. Sure, it wasn't burned down or anything, but the walls were made of concrete and yet large chunks of them had been gauged out, foundation was visible, and mossy covered what remained of the floors and walls like a blanket. Doorways were boarded shut where an actual door should've been, and the crates were ridiculously abundant, stacked in the corners of all sort of various colors and contents.

_And also, robots._

"I'm so sick of this!" I cried, glowing green and calling forth nearly every crate in the room. The horde of machines huddled around me and proceeded to fire, but my ring of crates withstood the onslaught before I expelled them outward. However, I didn't expect some of them to be, ahem, _explosive_, so while the robots were decommissioned for sure, the aftermath of the blast hurled me forward through the boarded up doorway, tumbling through the air before skidding along the jagged ground.

_Ow._

Wincing from the impact, I cracked my eyes open to see another drove off Egg Shooters ahead of me, and they weren't holding back this time. Yelping, I rolled out of the way before jumping back to my feet.

"If I can paralyze them, then I can grab them all at once with my psychokinesis!" I exclaimed, glancing around. "Now, how to do just that…?"

As usual, my only option rested within crates, so I ran at the robots in a curve, swooping up the crates along the way. When they fired at me, I bounced back while throwing my projectiles forward, stunning them with the impact. From there, I took a psychic hold on the entire pack, then proceeded to crush them against the concrete building.

Once they were cleared out, I saw a spring resting on the edge of the floor. I leapt off of it and found myself bouncing around over a series of train tracks. A train was passing under me towards a tunnel at that point, and I almost thought I saw a flash of blue whisk by alongside it. But when I turned my head to look again, it was gone.

_I really hoped my eyes weren't playing tricks on me or something…_

Whether it was real or not, the spring had bounced me into the opposite direction, dropping me off in front of some robots again. My eye twitching, I took control of all of them and threw them over my head, back-tossing them over the edge.

"They're not worth the trouble…!"

A train track ran above me, alongside the area I was on. I figured if I followed it, I'd end up at the place that the blue blur was headed. It was a tad rickety, which concerned me slightly, but it also meant that a train was coming, so I was on the right track.

_Heh, I'm funny!_

Using the surrounding to my advantage, I was like a machine with the way I moved through the railway, smiting my foes and crossing huge gaps without any trouble at all. To think, I had been capable of these amazing feats the whole time…I just had to work for it a little that was all, and though I still hadn't accomplished what I set out to do, I'd get there…I just had to believe.

But the further I got, the trickier it became. Footholds weren't as abundant –or safe- and the robots were getting bigger and more complicated. There were huge red ones that stood at thrice my size and large yellow ones that were missile crazy!

"And yet, still less threatening than the monsters in the future," I murmured, halting the missiles that the yellow drones launched. I then redirected them at the huge red one, blasting off an arm and a leg and causing it to fall forward. I stepped out of the way, allowing it to collapse onto the yellow robots, killing three birds with one stone. I was actually feeling pretty proud of myself until two yellow trains chugged on by, reminding me of the urgency of my mission.

I hopped on one of the cargo carts, sitting down and letting the train do my work for me. I might've been getting better at fighting, but too much use of my power was still a tad taxing. I stared at my palm curiously, making it glow for a bit, then sighing and putting it back down.

"Don't wimp out now, Silver," I told myself, trying to pep myself up. "You came close before. You can do this…Blaze depends on you for this, the world depends on you for this, and the future depends on you for this…"

_No pressure._

As long as I caught him by surprise, he wouldn't have a chance to retaliate, and I could finish him off in one shot. The deed would be done, I'd find Mephiles, and I'd go home to a much more pleasant life like I'd always wanted. That's all there was to it.

"I wonder where Amy is though," I wondered aloud, watching the scenery drift by. "She was so upset when she ran off, and…she just doesn't understand."

Oh, that fight with her hurt. She was the first person I met in the past, and she was generous enough to let me in on her life and help me out. She was the one I truly got the experience the world for what it should be with, but once our views and wills clashed, all of that just felt apart, but I also couldn't help but think that she maybe had a point.

…_and then again, so did Blaze._

Nothing was going to change for us if I did nothing about it, and seeing as I was given the chance to do so, wasting it would be asinine, even if I had to go it alone. I wanted nothing more than to purify the future of its flaming destiny, so was that truly a bad goal? No matter what you had to do to get to it?

"I'm hopeless," I moaned, falling on my side and lying on the floor of the cart. With my head resting on the metal, I watched the cliffs and trees and construction fly by at an angle.

In this world, life moved on, and it moved_ forward_. In my world, life was at a standstill and had no reason to go forward, and it was unable to go backward. It was just _stuck_. There was no one left to fight for but Blaze, and yet, if I failed, what was the point of going back? Today the world was going to end if I wasn't strong enough, and then what would I do? Go back in time once again and mess things up even more?

As I contemplated things, I caught sight of that streak of blue once again, but it wasn't moving as fast as it previously was. I stood up instantly and careened off the train, landing in another worn down building. Using my powers to slow my descent, I kept my eyes locked on the direction it was headed, adrenaline suddenly filling my body and fueling me from the inside out. The instinct to survive surpassed all moral desires and any second thoughts I was having evaporated.

"No more…no more!" I cried, tearing through the place with an unmatched fervor. "I will do what I must!"

I pushed my way through door, crashed through robots, leapt over walls, but I never looked away from that blue trail. I worked my way through the building until I was running along another set of tracks…where I finally got a good visual on him.

The Iblis Trigger was running on the ground below me now, and the reason he was moving slower than usual was because the princess was cradled in his arms again. She looked pensive while he was just as carefree and cool and cocky and casual as he was _last_ time, and it served to make the rage burn in me. Here he was, happily living his life when he knew he was destined to destroy it, and he'd probably duped that princess too! Was there'd no length he'd go to make the world end!?

My fist shook as my rage increased, that familiar green glow enveloping my whole body as he ran on by. To even let him live another second was costly, and before I could really realize what I was doing, I cast a psychic knife down at him, and only then did it occur to me that the princess _may_ have been in the line of fire rather than the Iblis Trigger.

_Crud, CRUD!_

However, my fleeting moment of panic was unnecessary because he saw the knife almost the instant that I threw it. He sidestepped out of the way, placing the princess delicately on her feet before assuming a fighting pose. I growled in frustration and jumped down, raising my hands with my powers at the ready.

"…you again," Sonic huffed at me, still not the slightest bit deterred, but something did seem…disturbed about him compared to our last encounter.

"This time there will be _no more_ interruptions!" I cried. "The Iblis Trigger…must die! And there are no alternate ways to go about it!"

His sharp eyes narrowed at me as he shuffled in front of the princess, allowing harm to come to himself before her, and he looked deadly serious about making sure that was the case. Well, I'd give him that satisfaction, then!

"HAH!" I yelled, firing another blast of psychic power. Sonic tumbled to the ground and once again rolled out of the way, but there was nowhere for him to run now! I didn't give him the chance to bounce back; I captured him with my powers and lifted him up off the ground, stripping of any chances of escape. He struggled around in my dominant green glow, trying to turn his head to face me.

"Eh…Eh…li…" he stammered, his hand slowly starting to rise too. My eyes flickered behind me to see the princess sprinting up to me in her heels, a look of deadly determination on her face.

_Somehow I was the one caught by surprise now!_

"Stop this! Stop it; this isn't right!" she sniveled, and she was just about to reach out for my shoulder when a long metal arm came down from above and grabbed her at the moment of truth, followed by a maniacal laugh that I'd be subjected to before.

"So, how was your little walk, princess?" Eggman's voice taunted from the cockpit of his machine. She threw Sonic one last look before being drawn in towards the machine at a breakneck pace.

"Naaaaaahhh!"

The look of pain and failure that crossed Sonic's eyes nearly stabbed me in the heart, because it was a look that I'd been wearing often myself. The overwhelming feeling that you've let someone down…it was heartbreaking.

_But I steeled myself and forged on._

Snarling, I increased my hold on him tenfold, making his knees buckle under the force and bringing him to the ground.

"…it's time to end this," I remarked darkly, the glow around the both of us become bigger and deadlier. I took a step forward to deal my finishing blow before Sonic could attempt to talk me down from it again, until this…_shadowy_ figure came down from above, set to land on my neck.

"Who the-?!"

I just barely managed to retreat back before he landed on me, my startled state of mind releasing Sonic. He gasped and gaped on the ground, pining for breath, while the shadowy figure in front of me who had dared to intervene…turned out to be a hedgehog?

He was kneeled in front of me, studying me down to the last detail with those scathingly crimson red eyes of his, almost like he was sizing up his _prey_. But not even that unsettled me the most- his fur was streaked with red, yes, but aside from that, he was almost a complete spitting image of-

"Mephiles…?" I asked, stung with disbelief. "Why are you getting in my way!?"

_Had I REALLY been backstabbed again?!_

He appeared to be incredibly irritated at the accusation, standing up on the spot with a flair that commanded authority and respect, and a sneer that said he meant business. Sonic didn't appear to be phased by this guy -yeah, cause his life was spared AGAIN- but with that killer look this hedgehog had, it was like_ I_ was the one that was going to die.

"I'm Shadow," the newcomer declared boldly, proceeding to fold his arms. "…Shadow the Hedgehog."

Shadow spent a few more seconds glaring at me before turning to Sonic, who smiled and flashed him a thumbs up before darting off after the princess, just like before. I was so not having this again, starting to give chase, but Shadow made just the slightest of movements, and I felt compelled to step back.

_I don't want to fight this guy…!_

"Silver the Hedgehog…" he rumbled lowly, and I felt myself go rigid at hearing my name. "…I know so much about you yet this is the first time we've met."

"How do you know who I am?!" I demanded, meekly raising my fists. He unfolded his arms and sighed at me, shaking his head.

"I hear you've been doing a lot of meddling in the past where you don't belong, and I'm here to put an end to that." He pointed behind him, gesturing in the direction Sonic had vanished to. "Killing that blue fool won't solve any of your problems; it will only increase them!"

_What…?_

Just like Amy, this guy; this…_Shadow_, was only serving to push the world towards its destruction! How could the people of the past be so ignorant? I was trying to show them that the path to preserving their peace was through ridding the world of one single life! I know it wasn't ideal, and I wasn't proud to do it, but there was no way around it!

"You're with him too!" I shouted angrily as I pointed at him. He remained completely aloof and despondent, fueling my rage ever more. "You're one of the ones that wish to see the world fall into disarray!"

"Oh trust me, I've seen what a depraved world you come from, and I assure you that my actions, and Sonic's, _don't_ lead to the future you were born in."

What the heck was he talking about?! What did he know about my world? Nothing, that's what! He wasn't born without hope, he didn't have to fight to live every single day of his life, and he didn't know what it like to be me…and to see him standing there, insisting that he AND the Iblis Trigger knew where I was coming from and that they weren't responsible for anything was complete bogus!

_I knew; I knew all that I needed to…!_

"N-No! I saw the Iblis Trigger! I saw what he's going to do today! And I trust what Mephiles said!"

My voice was cracking and getting desperate, my hands starting to glow merely to match my rising emotions rather to conjure up an attack. I was shaking in spite of myself, and Shadow just watched me with his brazen red eyes, trying to study me closely or something. The last thing I needed was to hear him preaching about he was in the right again…!

"_You_ don't understand, Amy didn't understand, Sonic didn't understand…no one does!" I cried, grabbing two of the quills on my forehead and yanking them in frustration. "For so long, I've had no way of accomplishing what I needed to do, and now, I _finally_ have something to believe in again…and everywhere I turn, people oppose me and tell me it's wrong!"

I gritted my teeth together, trying so hard not to let the tears slip.

"How is that wrong when I'm only doing what is right?"

Shadow merely shook his head at me, like I was some sort of lost cause and not worth his precious time. Well, I have all the time in the world, and if I failed to get the Iblis Trigger today, I'd just try again, and again, and again…! Mephiles would help me, Blaze would help me, and together we could work to preserve the future! Eventually there _had_ to come a time where I could put an end to the Iblis Trigger where he stood, and Amy wouldn't make me and break me within a few days, and Shadow wouldn't jump out of the blue and start ranting a list of lies at me.

"Perhaps it's not you that's in the wrong, but what you've been told that makes you wrong," Shadow began again, but I was so tired of his dishonesties that I could spit. "I'm telling you, killing Sonic will only bring forth that which you're trying to prevent…"

He was calm and even during all this, the complete opposite of me, who felt like throwing up right about then. How could he just stand there goading me when he could see how much turmoil I was in? How could he hinder me when I only wanted to help those who couldn't help themselves?

_What had I done to deserve so much sadness and anguish in my life? Why were so many obstacles coming in the way of me and simple happiness?_

"Don't get in my way," I managed to respond after a long silence, enveloping myself in my glow and floating in the air. "I have no reason to doubt what Mephiles has told me, and you're _not_ going to change my mind now! It's no use!"

Shadow looked perplexed at my words, but his eyes then widened when I let out a cry and flung myself backwards, then bringing myself up to a conveyor belt that looked over our little showdown area. Standing perfectly upright, I took hold of every crate and barrel within my range, manipulating them to circle around me. Shadow didn't know what to expect, so I attacked him while he was dazed.

"How about THIS?!"

I rained the slew of debris down upon my adversary, expecting him to be confused by the attack, which would in turn lead to his downfall. But instead, he suddenly burst into a colorful aura of his own –his being red- and he deflected my entire attack by punching the ground and expelling a red dome around himself. It was a deadly looking thing, considering it obliterated everything that it came in contact with, but to be against someone with such power…!

_Well, he was still no Iblis. _

"Hmph, I'LL give you something to doubt…!" Shadow blared, merely wiping off a few bits of debris after my attack. "Well, I _won't _hold back! Here I come!"

_Okay, time to panic…!_

I had absolutely no idea what to anticipate from this guy, so I booked it across the conveyor belt, and these _beams of lightning_ licked at my heels, destroying my perch and nearly destroying me! I kept flying out of the way, but it didn't do me any good when one of those shots nailed me in the chest and blew me off the side.

"Argh, no…!"

The wind was knocked out of me with the one attack alone- landing on the ground just served to leave me gaping like a fish in the grass. I was stunned for the moment, only able to watch as Shadow came skating at me before curling into a ball, prepared to ram into me. My survival instincts kicked in at just the right time, allowing me to roll out of way, take hold of a metal crate, and whack it over his head.

"Ouch…!"

He was on the ground grabbing his head and snarling, so I picked up some more crates and sent them down at him one after another, launching them like I was punching at the air. His red irises flicked up at the last moment, and before I knew it, he was breakdancing on the ground and bashing the crates with a flurry of his fists and feet like it was choreographed.

_Oh, come on!_

Shadow worked his movements so fast that he was suddenly by me, taking down my stance with a single powerful kick, and I went down like a freaking elevator. I got another taste of dirt as I looked back to see a ball of red energy forming between his hands, and that reddish glow was enveloping him again.

"You should've taken your chances with Amy, not me!" he spat, hurling that ball of power right at me. It exploded next to me on the ground, but I was in close enough proximity to get thrown across the yard, uprooting dirt and sending clumps of grass flying.

"If you refuse to listen to reason, maybe you'll listen to my fists!" Shadow kept running at me, with both fists at the ready to strike. I was so not about to let him punch my face in after all he'd done to me, and when his knuckles nearly brushed against my nose, I congregated up all my strength and held him at bay with my powers. With him hovering above me, looking fierce but not angry, I calmed myself down a bit. I realized that I was frenzied and even sweating, and it was all because of this guy…?

_He _was_ a worthy opponent- credit given where credit's due._

As I stood up, I couldn't help but wonder what his motives were. Aside from his likeness to Mephiles, I wanted to know what he had to do with anything. I hated to have been rubbed the wrong way, but he barely knew me, so why would he bother trying to get me to see the other way? I had my reasons for needing to kill Sonic; what were his reasons for trying to change my mind?

"Why are you wasting your time with me?"

Shadow didn't answer right away; he was too busy trying to regain control of himself, shifting around in my grip. He managed to curl his arms slightly, and starting to lift his legs, but he was still entirely under my control.

"I'm trying…to stop you…from making a huge mistake…" he gasped out, still twitching with the desire for moment. My eyes narrowed- that was definitely NOT the answer I was hoping for.

"Yeah? Well that's a mistake on YOUR part!" I declared, tightening my hold on him. Shadow grunted and groaned in retaliation, his eyes blazing as he managed to turning his head to be able to face me, baring his fangs and looking ready to attack the moment he got the chance. His fierce gaze unsettled me to the core, and I was so focused on that I ended up missing him lift his legs, with the rockets in his shoes flaring to life and sending a huge spout of fire at me.

"Argh, nah-!"

I was forced backward to get away from the heat, Shadow flying away above the ground thanks to his shoes, but he had successfully broken free of my hold. I was currently wincing from the slight burns I received, but the pain was not exactly a new experience. Living in a world of fire, yeah, that's the sort of thing you get used to, and here, it actually served to make me strong.

_Though there was nothing I could about the nasty spin dash he delivered to me afterward. _

I went spiraling upwards, screaming my head off and watching as the world became one giant smear of blue, green, gray, and brown, and I couldn't tell up from down. My eyes spun, my head was dizzy, and I still felt sick to the pit of my stomach, but when that sensation of falling came over me, I had the foresight to make my hand glow and sense for Shadow. As soon as I found him and grabbed hold of what I think was his foot, he had launched another one of his energy beams at me, but the force of me flying backward made me send him off to the right.

_I don't know where he landed, because I was too busy slamming into three rafter beams and then the wall of the building behind us. Pretty sure I left a dent too. _

When I picked myself up again with a bit of a stagger in my step, I looked over to see Shadow splayed out on the ground, so I took the chance to hover over to him with a group of barrels at my disposal.

"Take THIS!"

He wasn't able to breakdance his way out of THAT, so he found himself buried under a pile of rubble, but…he was a little less responsive that he should've been. His eyes were widened like he discovered something astonishing, and he didn't move.

"If you're trying to fake me out, it's not going to work!" I exclaimed, levitating him out of the debris pile. I let him fly, then followed up by sending a psychic knife into his stomach. Shadow looked completely numb at that attack, like he had simply shrugged it off, and I clenched my fists angrily.

"Are you _kidding_ me?!" I grunted, watching as he fell to the ground, lost in thought. Shouting and screaming, I reached for more barrels and crates and kept throwing them at him until I was sure he could feel it. "I am NOT to be trifled with!"

Shadow simply…_sat_ there, like he didn't even want to fight anymore. And he was totally ignoring me.

"HEY!" I howled at him, growing bitterer with each passing second that he unheeded me. "At least pay attention when I'm pummeling you!"

When once again he didn't respond, I threw another crate straight at his face, but he suddenly came back to life, caught it with one hand, then heaved it back at me. Once again, I was caught off guard, with it striking me in the jaw and sending me spiraling into the dirt.

"What the-?!"

"I've thrown _buses_ before," Shadow grumbled, dusting his hands off like it was no big deal. "Hurling _anything_ at me is a bad idea."

He stood over me as if he was waiting for my next attack, but I was too busy glowering at him and clawing up dirt between my clenching fingers. My glove designs started to glow, and I really wanted to let him have it, turning away from the ground with an orb of energy at the ready at my fingers.

"Well how about THIS?!"

Just when I thought I had him nailed, he wasn't even standing there anymore, and I went slackjawed in the split second before this _pain _seared up my back, and once more I went flying across the area. I had flipped upside down at one point, and I was able to see him blowing smoke off his fingers with a sneer on his face.

_Oh, he's going to pay._

"YAAAAAAAAH!"

I managed to halt myself in midair, just before I got acquainted with the wall of the building again. Still floating, I turned to face Shadow before reaching out to my sides with both hands, taking advantage of the freight trains that were passing us by. The freight on those trains suddenly matched my aura in color, with me lifting them right off of train carts.

_Shadow wasn't looking so stoic now, let me say._

"What do you think you're doing!?" he yowled at me, taking a few steps back.

"What I should've done a long time ago!" I yelled back, letting the freight drop down onto him. The two huge metal boxes crashed onto the spot where Shadow was once standing, stuff flying everywhere and a huge mess left behind…

_It's just, Shadow wasn't _among_ that mess._

He suddenly appeared in front of it out of thin air, seething in a rage I didn't know he was capable of. He'd been slightly ticked before, but this was a whole new level. He was hovering over the ground as high as I was, his shoes working double time to keep him that high.

"All right," he grunted, tilting his head sideways and cracking his neck. "You asked for it."

_I'm gonna die…!_

Shadow raised his arms to either side of him like I had, but instead of taking control of anything, his right hand flashed over his head and he started snapping his fingers immediately. With each instantaneous snap, I felt like the world around me was exploding, and I had no idea how he was controlling energy like that, but I knew I needed to _fly_.

I took off across the yard, and thankfully Shadow had stopped his little snapping episode, but he was flying after me too now, leaving behind a trail of fire in his wake.

"Get BACK here and fight me!"

_You couldn't pay me to go up against this guy again!_

Eventually we both got tired of flying, me especially because I was really over exhausting my powers, so at long last I turned around to face him. He was looking as overworked as I was, and I figured only one good shot would be enough to finally do him in. I readied the last of my powers to make one last blast attack, my body bathed in green as I kept my gaze locked onto Shadow. He was in the same pose as I was, instead making a ball of red energy between his hands and his body shining crimson.

We both wanted to get in our strikes first, but we had moved at the same time, our attacks thrusting forward as we stepped closer together. The world seemed to fall into slow motion as his blast and my power connected, creating a catastrophic explosion that sent us both flying backward in the aftermath.

"ARRRRRRRGGH!" "NOOOOOO!"

The both of us wailed to the sky as the world was flipped upside down, Shadow landing awkwardly on his arm and I face planting into a dirt pile. The whole scenario was embarrassing for us both, but being hit with a combination of pure power like that…hurt. A lot.

"Not...now…" I mumbled under my breath, feeling a new ton of scrapes and bruises adorning me. My chest was heaving up and down from exhaustion, and my powers were all but drained at that point. I don't even know how I managed to stagger to my feet, but what really made me angry was that while Shadow was also visibly drained, he wasn't _nearly_ as banged up as I was.

"Heh, you're not even a challenge…" he murmured under his breath, and I felt my vision go red.

To see that all my efforts barely had an effect on him…! It was just a kick in the face to remind me of just how weak I was! I failed at catching the Iblis Trigger twice now, I couldn't even face down a little girl, I followed a trail that led to a dead end, and now, this guy was going to beat the heck out of me –like he hadn't already- and was going to prevent me from completing my mission!

_Why, why, WHY did this have to be so hard!?_

I felt myself flashing back to my first encounter with Sonic, with how easily he brushed off my attacks once he learned how I worked. I remember how angry I felt that I couldn't overcome him; couldn't even keep him grounded with how resilient he was, and how aloof he acted when he pushed me to the ground in my last attempt to show him I was serious.

And here was Shadow, the exact same way.

I was literally trembling- not just from exhaustion, but from the rage building in me; an unbridled fury that had been in me somewhere simmering quietly, but I'd never had the proper outlet to unleash it on. Now, here it was, and as I found myself clenching my fist, I wasn't going to stand for it anymore.

Raising my fist over my head, I ran for Shadow, ready to punch his lights out and just _daring_ him to stop me.

"RAAAAAAAAARGH!"

In the split second it would have taken me to connect my fist to his face, Shadow suddenly drew a green Chaos Emerald out of his quills, and before I could even fathom what that meant, he shouted, "CHAOS CONTROL"…and I suddenly wasn't moving nearly as fast as I should have been.

My forward momentum kept me moving, but out of the corner of my eye I could see him walk right past me, and when time around me returned to normal, I felt a sharp kick drive into the back of my head, and once again I was in the dirt.

…_why…?_

I lay there for a few seconds, having never felt so defeated in my whole life. I didn't know how much hostility and obstruction I could take at this point. I had tried to overcome so many obstacles in my life, but there had to come a time when you had to decide whether to just try harder…or to finally walk away.

_It was the hardest decision anyone could choose to make. _

On the ground, I glowered over my shoulder at Shadow, who was just standing there and making no sudden movement, always watching. I was so spent after our fight, but if I didn't get up now, I'd just be admitting defeat, and I wasn't ready to do that. When I finally pulled myself together, Shadow just sneered and flashed his emerald at me.

"Y-You…!"

"Don't bother attacking me again," he chided me, the glow of his gem almost threatening in his grasp. "With a Chaos Emerald's power, I can control time _and_ space. You can't break free."

_I…can't break free…? At this point, what COULD I break free of?_

"It's no use…! IT'S NO USE!"

For years I've wasted time battling Iblis, which was utterly pointless with the way he kept coming back again, with nothing gained in the process of bringing him down. I worked myself into an endless cycle, and even when I thought I could, could I truly break free of that?

"I won't…give up…!"

I couldn't give up! With the Iblis Trigger off to cause the Day of Disaster, I'd be stuck with the future I sought out so hard to save. I had that chance to do what I could, and I couldn't stress enough to myself of what I could do when I stopped him; what I could change, what I could save…!

"It all depends on me…!"

Yes, me- one of the last remaining survivors of the world after it ended; a young, confused, immature teen that didn't quite know how to use his powers properly. That joke was supposed to bring the world out of its fated demise? A guy like that was going to be the savoir that the world needed for _two hundred years_?

"…Can't lose…!" I winced, resting on one knee and holding my head in my hands. "Not when I'm _so close_…!"

I couldn't stop here- I may not have accomplished much, but I had come so far regardless, and Shadow was about to stop me here and now, and I knew he could do it. He had demonstrated that to me many times in our battle, and though he had said that he wasn't holding back, I knew that he was, _slightly_, and I didn't want to fall victim to his true power…but I _really_ wanted him to fall into mine.

I finally gained the resolve to stand up again, pulling out the trump card of my own, the Chaos Emerald _I_ had found in White Acropolis. If it could help Shadow out, maybe it could help me…just maybe…

_Because right now, more than ever, I needed a nudge in the right direction. _

Blaze was always the one to give me that nudge. After my confrontation with Amy, and I was so torn on my morals and my desires, she was the one who showed me the reality. While it was hard, I had to do what I needed to. She didn't like it either, but nothing was going to change if I didn't take a chance on today!

"_That's a Chaos Emerald,"_ I could hear her voice telling me softly, reminding me of the true greatness that I held in my hand. _"It's said that this gem can transform your thoughts into power. Collect seven, and a miracle is supposed to happen."_

To think, I held a seventh of a miracle in my own two hands…

"…_keep it as a lucky charm."_

…A lucky charm was definitely what I needed right now, and with the power I could feel it feeding to me, it gave me the hope…

"_It…transforms your thoughts into power, huh…?"_

…that maybe I could cause a small miracle of my own. That's all I needed.

I stared into the emerald, a rise of courage filling in place of where uncertainty had been. It showed me how every night, I could feel my pain. I waited for my valor, but it never came. And now that I'm able, I still want to change the past; to mend a faux pas…

_And this was my last chance._

With pure conviction and undying tenacity, I outstretched the emerald above my head and refused to be defeated! If Shadow could use the emerald to change what was around him…then why couldn't I?!

_I just have to channel my thoughts into power…_

"RAAAAAAAAAGH!"

After hearing my shout and seeing me move, Shadow prepared to initiate another Chaos Control, but I was ready for him this time, matching his movements point for point. Maybe if I mimicked him, I could recreate what he did.

"Chaos-" he shouted, holding his emerald forward. I forced my wrist next to his with my own Chaos Emerald, fiercely locking eyes with him as the thoughts of changing the past churned in my head.

"-CONTROL!" we both yelled now, and what happened next I _definitely_ wasn't expecting.

A blue hole ripped through the fabric of time and space itself, and after that the Chaos Emeralds repelled away from each other, also pushing me away from Shadow. I was just _really_ confused by what had just gone down, while Shadow looked like he'd been smacked in the jaw by some realization.

_And yet, he took a ton of crates to the face better than the appearance of this…thing._

"…HUH?!"

_THAT was from me, though. _

"You…induced a Chaos Control? _You_ caused a space-time rift?!" he nearly screeched, and I just gaped at it, feeling the Chaos Emerald pulsate in my hand.

"_I_ caused that?" I asked, dumbfounded, and he nodded dumbly.

"I can't cause a _space-time rift_ by myself, even with an emerald," Shadow explained, still floored by the revelation. "I thought Sonic was the only other person who could initiate Chaos Control…"

_SONIC can do THAT too?!_

I was actually kinda impressed with my newfound abilities, and I wondered what else I could do with them, but I refused to let myself get swept up in all this excitement. I composed myself and stood straighter, storing my emerald away for safe keeping.

"I won't let anyone get in my way," I reiterated, clenching my fist. "I'll change the past and save the world!"

Shadow stared at me a few moments longer, but then turned away and shook his head in disappointment. I felt myself soften a bit; I really hadn't meant to cause any trouble, I just go so frustrated…

"Mephiles isn't trying to help you create a better future," he finally said after an unsettling lull in the conversation. "He's _trying_ to eliminate the past!"

I stood stunned for a few moments, in disbelief that he could even _say_ that. Mephiles was the one who had helped me get to the past in the first place- what would drive him to do that if he wanted to ruin said past?

"…what?" I choked out, now feeling conflicted. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean, no one knows the truth about Mephiles, and those that do are intent on keeping it confidential," he explained, turning to face the portal we'd created together. "I know that he has something terrible in the works, but I don't know the 'why' myself…"

He gazed into the swirling blue energy of the portal, his fists tightening instinctively.

"To discover what happened, it seems we must see what took place ten years ago."

_Wait, wait, wait…he wanted to go into the random space-time rift that we created on accident?!_

"Wh-what!? How do you know that portal leads to the time and place that…whatever you're talking about…happened?"

Shadow was quiet, but he eventually faced me again.

"Well, what were you thinking about when you thought to use the Chaos Control?"

"…exactly what I told you; my desires to change the past," I replied conservatively. Why was that important?

The lightest smirk I'd ever seen crossed his face as he stepped toward the portal confidently.

"I think we'll be right where need to be. Now, let's go."

_Was he serious?!_

"You beat me up and then want me to follow you into some mystery portal?!"

"You struck first," Shadow reminded me, springing into the air. "The choice is entirely yours. Follow me if you want the truth."

He took off into the blue vastness that was the rift, leaving me behind to make up my mind.

I could've let him go do what he wanted, and I could've resumed my search for the Iblis Trigger…but this could be the one time I'd be able to see who was in the right about all. Perhaps this really_ was_ where all my problems truly began…two hundred and ten years before I even _existed_.

_Maybe this was where I could see if all my troubles were really what they seemed. Maybe, if I took a look around, I could realize who was preaching all the lies…Sonic and his apparently endless pack of friends, or Mephiles himself. _

I know I wasn't one to take risks, but…maybe it was time to start doing so.

_Besides, if Shadow couldn't open a space-time rift by himself, how was he expecting to get back…?_

"Time travel," I muttered under my breath, but I figured that this quick little field trip would help more than hurt.

_And as usual, I was wrong._


	8. Nightmares of Reality

**Katz4: **We're almost there! :)

**SplatKirby: **Thanks! I enjoy writing Silver because I never have to think too deeply about it; it just happens naturally. ^^

**Christian Ape99:** Well, this may be the chapter were that becomes a reality!

* * *

Absolute Dreams

Chapter 8: Nightmares of Reality

Going through the "space-time rift" was a different sensation than jumping through the portal Mephiles conjured up. It was much more…natural. With Mephiles, it was like he had forced open a hole, while this one had appeared willingly.

_It's…really hard to explain. I'm not an expert on portal jumping or time warping._

Shadow was straight-faced as always when we stood up on the metallic floor, and we found ourselves surrounded by metal walls with fluorescent lights that gave me a bit of a headache when I stared too long. It was quiet, and every sound we made echoed down the corridor…and it was actually kinda creepy. I was going to ask Shadow where he thought we were, but a sharp pain suddenly shot through the back of my head, and I nearly doubled over.

"Nargh…!"

Shadow halted and turned to scrutinize me, but I made a face back.

"Don't glare at me like that! I told you that you beat me up! Do you _know_ how many times you slammed me into the dirt?"

_I could still taste the grass…_

He let out an exasperated sigh like I was some kind of burden he didn't want to deal with before he took out his Chaos Emerald and approached me. I recoiled backwards slightly, having no idea what he planned to do, but he…suddenly planted the emerald against my forehead. I froze for a moment, expecting some kind of overbearing pain, but the emerald's energy overtook me instead, having a calming effect. Instead of more pain, it was suddenly all gone and I felt great! When he decided that I'd been helped enough, Shadow snatched the emerald away and carried on, but he wasn't about to bamboozle me like that and walk away without clarifying things!

"H-Hey, wait! What did you just do?!" I scrambled to say, trying to catch up with him.

"I healed you. You're welcome."

_Well, I knew THAT!_

"No! Ugh, well, _thanks_ but…how'd you do that?"

I genuinely wanted to know! I mean, I'd just discovered that I had Chaos Abilities, but did I just have that Chaos Control, or could I heal too? If Shadow told me how he did it, I'm sure I could recreate it again…

"There's a lot you don't know about me," he replied obstinately, continuing to walk away from me. His totally unhelpful response put me off, but I wasn't going to stop trying!

"Well, I've got nothing but time," I clarified, but he shrugged it off like a professional.

"Interesting. So do I."

…_never mind. I give up._

I gave him a break from my questions when we found the end of the hall, leading into the next room. However, the floor of the room was completely full of water aside from the dry platforms that managed to peak out above the surface. I was wondering how that could even be, until I looked up…and saw a school of fish swimming around above our heads. I had never seen anything like it!

"A laboratory like this, under Soleanna…"

"It looks like their science was pretty advanced," Shadow remarked. "Hard to believe this flew under the radar of GUN."

I had no idea what he was talking about, but I was too mesmerized by the near impossibility of the place to really pay attention. A base underwater sounded cool! And here I was, actually IN one!

_So much better than a burned building._

"It's so big and spacious and empty…" I noted once I caught up with Shadow.

"Makes one wonder what all this room is for," he responded back, opening the door to the next room and scouting the inside. "…and I wonder just where in Soleanna we're located…"

"I wouldn't know," I answered, using my powers to effortlessly open the next door.

"I really wouldn't expect you to."

_Hmph, what was THAT supposed to mean?_

We fell on a loss for words, and I didn't know how to reignite the conversation. Being even further in the past was a rather uncomfortable thing, because everything was still so unfamiliar. It was so silent, and I hated silence, because to me, it always felt like life had stopped in that single moment of quietness…

Shadow, meanwhile, was stalking determinedly forward like a man on a mission, and I was doing my best just to keep in step with him. I was dying to ask him some questions, since he was such an enigma, and he had already known a lot about _me_ before our encounter, so he really had me at a disadvantage-

"_What_?"

Him suddenly taking a snap at me with his words completely caught me unexpectedly, not even letting me reach the top of the next area before scaring me out of my wits. He looked incredibly annoyed, and I wasn't even sure what it was that I did to deserve _that_, but I felt it best to apologize.

"S-sorry," I grumbled, rubbing the back of my head. "It's just…I really don't know what to say right now…"

He didn't reply instantly, appearing lost in thought for a few short moments. I was waiting for him to say anything at that point, desperate for something to take my mind of the deafening silence in this base, but I really wasn't anticipating what he asked next.

"How old are you anyway, kid?"

…_where did THAT come from?_

I'd been startled by the question, but I pulled myself together and figured I should answer.

"Fourteen. Why, how old are you?"

"Guess I'm physically sixteen now."

_Wait, 'physically'? What the heck was that supposed to mean?_

"What?! You're only two years older than me!" I exclaimed as an afterthought. "Why do you keep calling me kid?"

"Actually, I'm two hundred and thirty-six years older than you," he corrected callously. "Which is counting the fifty years I spent in suspended animation."

I nearly stumbled over myself after I heard him say that. I really did know next to nothing about this guy…!

"No way…how could you have possibly spent so long in suspended animation?"

"I told you, there are a lot of things you don't know about me," he stated simply, once again brushing off my inquisitions. "Besides, I'm sure your story is _far _more interesting."

_Ha…ha…HA HA HA HA- I mean, what?_

I couldn't tell if he was being serious or using that tone that borderlined on sarcastic, but thinking it over depressed me, because there really wasn't much too tell. Future destroyed, life sucks, whatever. I told that to everyone- there was nothing particularly intriguing about it.

I sat myself back in midair and pouted. "Yeah, _sure_. If 'interesting' is spending your whole life fighting something you can't overcome. I can't expect anyone in the past to understand it- they've had it too good to empathize with what I know…"

"You'd be surprised. There may be people in the past that understand you more than you realize."

He answered me far too quickly. The only one who could possibly empathize was Amy, between our homes being destroyed…but she was long gone now, and I didn't need her empathy.

_But it still hurt._

Grimacing, I turned away from Shadow, reeling from my recent memories. "I _wish_ that was the case. Then maybe all of this wouldn't be so hard."

"…then imagine this," he began, and the firm way he spoke had caught my interest. "Let's say a hedgehog, just like you, felt like the whole world was against him…he only wanted one thing and one thing alone, but everywhere he turned, people were telling him what to do and trying to pull him in directions different from what he believed."

My eyes widened and I bit my lip- I had to admit he had my circumstance pegged, but that was easy…he didn't know how I _felt_, did he?

_No one could just make that up._

"At first, he thought that the first person who approached him with the promise to help was the one he could trust above all else," Shadow continued, actually sounding a little disheartened as he spoke. "…but after several hardships, and the encouragement of friends he wasn't sure he had, he finally realized that what he was doing was wrong, learned to go against that person who attempted to corrupt him, and finally got what he was looking for…"

"…and who was this hedgehog?" I asked bitterly, not expecting an answer. After all, why should I? He shot down all my previous questions; why would this one be any-

"Me, about a year ago. I was pretty much in your exact situation."

Shadow was turned away from me, far more interested in walking forward than making serious eye contact with me, but his words might as well have been written just for me. I did trust Mephiles as soon as he gave me a reason why I should, and I wondered who in the world could have driven Shadow to do the same, especially if he was so wary of Mephiles now.

_I…I didn't want to up regretting my choices, but…_

"You're saying that Mephiles is the person I shouldn't trust, and the likes of you and Amy and even Sonic are the ones I should listen to?"

I finally spoke up after having nothing to immediately counter with, since this random guy who was intent on beating me to a pulp was now claiming that he could relate to me, and as farfetched as the was…I didn't think I'd mind if it was true.

_A little understanding wasn't too much to ask, right?_

"I can't coerce you into that choice- you have to make it yourself," he explained. "But seeing as I know what you're going through, I don't want to see you go down the road that I almost did."

I gave him a pained look for the briefest of moments, turning away. It was so much to process…was I…really…headed…down the same path as him? Could it be that I was unintentionally pushing away people who were just trying to help me…and was I embracing those that wished to hurt me?

Shadow…he seemed to get out of it relatively unscathed, but I still didn't know the whole story, and with how pained he was while telling it, I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear it. But if there was one difference that there was between the two of us, it was that he was surrounded by _tons_ of people, and any one of them could step in to help him if they cared enough…

_I have __**one**_.

In despair, I slid against the wall, falling into a sitting position. Pulling my knees to my chest, I bent my head down and grabbed it in my hands.

"That's easier for you than it is for me," I muttered disconsolately. "By the sounds of it, you've had a ton of friends that had your back and supported you, but all I have is Blaze, and she's not even _around _most of the time…"

Shadow shifted uncomfortably and good for him, because it WAS an uncomfortable situation…

"And here I am, trying to come to terms with what I should do, and now I'm just lost and confused. I don't know what do anymore."

I lifted my head to look at him, and a glint of agony danced across his eyes when I did.

"…who am I supposed to fight, when I'm not sure what I'm fighting for anymore?"

Shadow's eyes softened the tiniest bit after I said that, and he was unbearably silent. I figured he'd add some sort of insult to my injuries, since he wasn't exactly the nicest guy…so what he did next surprised me.

Shadow stooped down and held out his hand to me, offering a small sort of comfort…and his friendship.

"Kicking yourself while you're down isn't going to help anything; that's just going to make things worse. You're going to have to roll with the punches, and know when to punch back or step away."

_Roll with the punches…even when they were in the face?_

Still, I took his hand, and Shadow pulled me into a standing position. I staggered a bit from the sudden change in orientation, but I regained my balance quickly. Shadow waited until I was settled and focused before he spoke again.

"It's a lie when you say you're got nothing to believe in, because at the very base of it all, how can you believe in anything, if you can't even believe in yourself?" Shadow inquired, and I had to admit, it struck a nerve or two. "Even if Mephiles sent you to the past for malicious intentions, I honestly think this was the best thing to ever happen to you. Murdering someone may not be what you needed; what you needed was to see what you _could_ be, and then you could go from there…"

Believing in myself…I had always thought that if I believed in others, some of their strength would come back to me…I put so much faith into Blaze, and I hoped that one day, I would be as strong as she was. She, who could face the world as it was with her head held high and no hesitation, tackling things head on and giving her all in everything she did…

_But none of that was me._

Maybe I was naïve. I _liked_ to believe in others…but maybe I was looking in the wrong places. I thought too low of myself to be worth putting faith in, but that was precisely what I also lacked…confidence.

_Perhaps…it was time that I finally found some. And only I could give it to myself._

"Shadow, I'll be looking out for your truth." I stood a little straighter, and found myself not frowning as hard. "Part of me hopes that you're right about Mephiles, because I never wanted to kill Sonic…but the other part hopes you're wrong, because then that means I was duped…"

"If that is the case, all you have to do is fix what you broke," Shadow stated simply with a nod. "Mistakes happen to the best of us, and forgiving ourselves for them is one of the hardest things we can do."

_Forgive myself…_

If it happened that I had been wrong, I could forgive myself easily- I knew I was only trying to help…it was someone else's forgiveness that I was worried about.

"Yeah, but um…if it turns out that Sonic _isn't_ the Iblis Trigger…" The words caught in my throat as I spun to face Shadow. "…do you think he'll forgive me?"

"I _think_ he understands that you only did what you did in an attempt to save your world, but he was pretty freaked out about someone hell-bent on trying to kill him."

_Could he be any blunter?_

"…still, he's also a pretty forgiving guy," he finished, redeeming himself. "He'll tell you that himself."

If that was the case, then I had no more reason to worry. If he truly was the Iblis Trigger, he would be taken care of, and if he really, really wasn't…then maybe _I_ wouldn't find myself with someone after my head.

_Not that I would even deserve that level of forgiveness…_

"There is still a lot I don't know about you, Shadow, but I don't think I need to know," I murmured quietly. "Because one thing is for sure- you're a heck of a better guy than Mephiles, even if you may look that same."

Mephiles…now that I thought about it, all he did was warp me to the past with the request to destroy the Iblis Trigger. Had I really been blinded by my quest for a better future that I failed to see the holes in the proposition Mephiles offered to me… And when I tried to get clarifications on how Sonic was purportedly supposed to trigger Iblis, Mephiles dodged the question…!

_Shadow may have shot down my questions, but he had answered them when they were important…_

I really wanted to return the favor, especially since he'd been carrying most of our weight during our visit to the base. So when we had stumbled across a dead end and Shadow appeared to be at a loss for what to do, I gladly stepped in to offer my assistance.

"There must be a switch for the door up ahead," I remarked, ready to go. "Leave this to me."

Shadow was more than willing to let me take the lead, thus I performed a cartwheel and pushed off into the air. I glided from one platform to the next, trying to pace myself with my power usage. Aside from the mysterious and large hole in the floor of the room, nothing was off about the area, unless you counted the fact that the walls around us doubled as aquariums.

_Huh, doom with a view._

Finding the switch really wasn't as difficult as I had anticipated. I just moved some cluttered crates and BAM- there it was, hidden under a pile of cubes. Whoever owned this base really needed to get a clean-up crew on the job…

"Oh well," I shrugged, giving the switch a hit and letting out an overly uproarious cheer when the door out whooshed open. Shadow must've heard me wallowing in my success, so I used my powers from afar to bring him on over…although something told me he REALLY didn't like that.

"Hey, don't do that without telling me first!" he bellowed, swatting me away like an irritated bug. I flinched away and made a face.

"Just wanted to make it quick…!"

_So, I guess it wasn't my best idea…but not the worst either._

Seeing as I doubted I could improve his mood by saying anything, I hurried into the next room, where floors and footing were scarce again. The only thing even remotely maneuverable was the platforms that hung down from the ceiling. I stepped on one to get a feel for it, and as soon as Shadow joined me, it suddenly whisked forward, bringing us to an area that was full of pink barriers.

_I could take care of those, no problem!_

The moment the platform stopped moving I was off, picking up some nearby crates and going on the prowl for the switch that would turn the barriers off. I searched the length of the area I was in, but it turned out that the switch was in an impossible to reach place…being a platform in the middle of the gap.

_Well, not impossible for a psychic like me, but whatever._

I hurled the crates in the direction of the switch, nailing it the first time and dispelling the barrier switch with no trouble at all. I was actually feeling pretty proud at my achievement, until I could've sworn I heard Shadow mumbling something unpleasant like a wet blanket. Getting the sense he was mocking me, I whirled to face him and clenched my fists.

"Did you say something?!" I demanded. He gave me this scathing look as he leaned his back to the wall.

"Yes, if you HAVE to know. You're putting too much power into your abilities; you need to slack back and imagine each attack at an extension _of _yourself, not as an expulsion_ from_ yourself."

I gawked back at him, unable to formulate a coherent response in time. "Ehhhhhhh?"

_Where the heck was all this coming from?!_

Shadow just exasperated and remove himself off the wall, starting to stretch. I watched him curiously, wondering what he was about to do. Some sort of gold sparkles were dancing around his hand in that made me think of the psychopathic spears he'd been throwing at me earlier, so I took a step back out of concern for my own well-being.

"Allow me to demonstrate, then."

He was finite in his decision, the glow in his hands becoming brighter. I had the completely rational fear that he'd turn around and skewer me at a moment's notice, though.

"Now, look," Shadow continued, trying to get me to stand to attention. "This is what happens if I just chuck Chaos Spears willy nilly just because I _can."_

I took a bit of offense to that last part, but when I saw him throw himself into every spear he launched and every attack he executed…he radiated a certain energy that I could only describe as being on par with mine. When I attacked, I wanted to make sure I always hit my target…

But I never realized how reckless of a strategy that really was.

Suddenly, I understood what Blaze had meant by me being sloppy- there wasn't an ounce of precision in any move I made, and Shadow was proving that point with how haphazardly he was hurling his spears. Each attack slammed against the wall in quick succession, and I felt myself recoiling with every impact. Was that really how tactless my attacks came off as…?

"You're unnecessarily over exerting yourself with every strike, which is why you get so tired easily," Shadow explained when he finally put an end to his assault, looking a bit wiped. "But when you imagine each strike as an extension of yourself, it becomes more natural, and then you're not constantly forcing it out- it just happens and you have better control."

When Shadow demonstrated a Chaos Spear in his regular fashion, I found myself shocked how radically different the execution was- the spear moved in a precise direction with a destined target, and it totally sliced a metal crate in two. To think that a little discipline could bring such drastic improvement!

_If only I had known…_

"…and by doing that, full potential is released," Shadow concluded as he whirled to face me with an overdose of poise. "Now when you fight or fly or even simply move objects, it'll not only be stronger, but you won't feel sapped as quickly. Overusing is still bad, but with moderation it's all right."

It was then that I had started to feel ashamed- Blaze had pointed out a few of those things before, but never in such detail that I could understand. I always thought that me getting stronger would lead to better control over my powers, but it turns out that I was just handling them wrong…

With a touch of hesitance, I tried to remember Shadow's words as I went to pick up a crate. I had to remember not to force out my powers; instead, use them as an extension of myself. So, rather than throwing my mind's reach out towards the crate, I imagined that I physically picked it up with my hand, and to my great surprise it had rose up from the ground in one fluid motion without even the slightest hint of a struggle.

_It's never been like that before!_

"Cool!" I exclaimed, lifting myself up off the ground. I felt lighter than I ever had before, and soon enough I found myself flying around the room with a grace I never knew I had. When I was done with as many laps as I needed to, I hovered over to Shadow and practically beamed at him. "Thanks for the tips!"

"Yeah, well, you were in desperate need," he grunted back, like he could care less. I made a face at this and kicked back in the air, feeling the slightest sting at his undyingly apparent apathy.

"I always knew I wasn't very good with my powers, but I could never figure out why…no one had any similar powers as mine, which is why I'm the only one that can ever subdue Iblis…" I explained, expression turning into a scowl as I reminded myself of that putrid fact. "…but I think the real problem was that no one really knew what they were doing. Even Blaze was self-taught."

And even that was just because she needed her powers to fight and survive.

"No one was around to teach me anything, really…"

I sat in midair mulling over my misfortunes, and I hadn't really expected Shadow to reply. He had probably only shown me all of those tricks because I was such a horrendously lousy fighter. I seriously thought he was just going to up and walk away, but he did send me one last phrase over his shoulder.

"…I'm glad I could help, then."

I couldn't help the small surge of positivity that pulsed through me as I followed him, ready to see where the rest of the base would take us now that I could better defend myself. Now that I didn't feel like dead weight, I followed diligently after Shadow as he expertly worked his way through the base, wall jumping and leaping around like this was some sort of average workout for him. I sorta cheated and just flew around everything, but when I started running into silver bubbles in the air, I eventually had to ground myself.

"Hey, what're these bubbles for?"

I gave one of them a poke and sent it bouncing around the room, but at least it was now out of my way. Shadow didn't take the time to ponder their existence like I did- he just used them to his advantage, spin dashing each one and working his way across a blindingly speedy pace. I had trouble enough even keeping up with him, finding that he beat me to the next room.

"They're definitely researching something here," he mused, walking the length of the circular room and giving one of the glowing tubes a knock. The action was completely uncalled for and I moved him away from it, fearing it would break and ooze out some radioactive goo and give us a third eye or something.

"Ack, don't touch that! You don't know what it can do!" I chastised him, looking the container over to make sure the slightest of cracks didn't form on it. Shadow hastily grabbed my shoulder and yanked me away from it, giving me the mother of all sneers.

"What did I _tell_ you about-"

His death rant was interrupted by a dozen foreign sounds echoing throughout the base, which DID save me from earning a reprimanding and a pummeling, but the fact that those sounds even existed sent red flags flying high in my mind. Shadow instantly went to open the next door, only for the sounds to become even louder.

"…I think we may have found what we came here to find," was all Shadow murmured before he tore down the hall. He left a blaze of fire in his wake, which I knew I couldn't compete with.

"Hey, wait for me…!" I wailed, resorting to catapult myself forward in order to stay on his heels. Whatever was going on couldn't be TOO big of a deal…

_Right?_

Well, THAT was when I realized how wrong I was, because the hall brought us to a balcony that overlooked a room full of people in white robes, and one of them I even recognized as a younger Lord Regis. I couldn't comprehend what any of them were doing, but there was a long tube thing in the center of the room that was filled with some fiery gold energy, with a smaller section at the top was filled with what I could only perceive as darkness. Both components made me uncomfortable, but even more disconcerting was that I couldn't figure out what those people desired to accomplish.

"What're they doing, Shadow?"

I figured he'd have a better assessment of the situation than I could, but I still pushed myself against the window to try and get the bigger picture. Shadow leaned forward too, but I didn't think he was having as much luck.

"I can't tell, but they're yelling…and it doesn't sound good."

_Since when is yelling good thing?_

Shadow's words didn't put me at ease, but the heavy atmosphere that was filling the room wasn't solely caused by him. I could hear the unceremonious shouts of some of the people below, and as Shadow said, it wasn't anything pleasant.

"An electromagnetic pulse has just been generated! Injecting a decompressing agent…no, the level's not dropping! A spatial meltdown is inevitable!"

"My Lord, it's too late!" shouted Regis, frantically moving his hands along the dashboard. "We've got to take shelter!"

I felt my heartbeat increase the moment the tall bearded man slammed his fists against the control panel, looking at the golden flames in the container with malcontent and sorrow.

"Why, Solaris? Why do you refuse to listen to my voice?"

Solaris? Is that what all that was? The name…I felt like I should've known it, but that thought process went out the window when a girl came running into the room, sporting the same hair and same fair face as one that I'd seen a few times during my trip to the past.

_But…I couldn't quite…figure it out…_

The younger version of that innocent girl went running up to the man with beard, having a joyful demeanor that far contrasted the situation at hand.

"Father!" she chirped in a singsong voice, and her father wasn't nearly as pleased to see her right then.

"Elise!?" he yelled, and it was then that it hit me, instantly turning to Shadow who bore the same expression I did.

"The princess?!" we exclaimed simultaneously, and I never felt more paralyzed than in that moment.

_What in the world was she…and her father…and what was going on?!_

Everything was happening too fast for me to properly make sense of anything. I could hear the screams of panic and the whine of the alarms, but my eyes were locked onto that golden glow of the entity in the container, drawn in by its luminescence. It was so pretty…and yet, something about it was so deadly and dangerous-

"Get down!"

Shadow had suddenly shoved me to the ground and threw himself over me, a huge explosion ringing out and pounding against my ear drums. I could see smithereens of glass clatter to the floor around us as the temperature in the room grew considerably, with agonizing cries filling the air…

_It was absolutely horrible, and I wouldn't wish such a catastrophe on anyone…_

But after what felt like a dark and empty eternity, the heat in the room slowly decreased, the pattering of glass ended, the screams had faded out…and everything went still. The unsettling silence after the torrent of trouble brought a whole new wave of discomfort, and I couldn't help but ask if it was over yet. In that situation, that was all I could do…with such despair hanging over our heads in a veil.

Shadow had grumbled something in response, but he did eventually get up, sporting a few minor cuts and scrapes from the pieces of glass that racked against him earlier. Bits of fur looked a tad charred, but other than that, he was pretty unharmed. The only thing on me that ached was my arm, but that was from being manhandled to the floor. My condition was the last thing I needed to worry about; what of the others, the researchers…?

_All those people…_

What I saw could only be described as nothing short of pure devastation. The place looked nothing like it had just moments ago…a once solid researching environment had been reduced to shambles, leaving nothing intact. I couldn't fully comprehend what had happened with the explosion, but seeing so many, lifeless bodies in the midst of ruins…it was a sight I was all too familiar with back in the future. Such a horrid state of affairs was the norm where I came from…but that didn't make it any easier to watch.

As Shadow hurried over to Elise's father, I tended to the researcher closest to me, giving him a slight jostle. The response was cold, lifeless, and nonexistent, and already I knew it was too late. The same fate befell all others my eyes fell on, but all thoughts of them vanished when I stared at the area where the canister once stood tall.

"I-Is that…?" I stammered, unsure of what to make of the golden ball that was just…hovering there. Shadow pulled away from the Duke and started to approach it himself.

"The Sun God, Solaris."

Before I could make heads or tails of what that was supposed to mean, the overblown glow of the orb suddenly went out, leaving a darkened core in its wake. Things only got worse from there when the shell suddenly started to crack, and snapping flames lurked their way out of the crevices. The shell itself suddenly melted…and pooled onto the ground as a grotesque purple puddle.

_But I was more concerned with the lingering fire. _

"That flame…it's Iblis!"

The bane of my existence…I had witnessed those flames every single day of my life, and I'd recognize them anywhere, and ANY time…and this time certainly wasn't an exception. The reality of it all was still fresh in my mind when Shadow hit me with another discovery.

"…and the black shadow is the original Mephiles."

Tearing my gaze from the flame, I directed it at the pool of ooze. It was surrounded by a thick cloud of dark purple gas, and I could hardly imagine that it would one day become the hedgehog that threw me into this mess…

"THAT'S Mephiles?!" I howled, yet as soon as I did, both Mephiles' ooze and the ball of flames that was Iblis started taking off in different directions. "They're escaping!"

"We'll have to split up, then," affirmed Shadow instantly. "I'll pursue Mephiles."

"Okay." There was no time to get caught up in what everything meant- what was happening NOW was what I needed to focus on! "Then leave Iblis to me!"

Time wasn't wasted in us running off, but someone beckoned out to Shadow, and I stopped to see what was going on. The Duke was holding out a strange-looking object to Shadow, his face looked pained just from keeping himself alive.

"Seal it…with this…" he moaned, and Shadow accepted it with the ghost of concern lacing his expression. He was fixed on that object alone, like the sight of it had stopped his breathing.

"Hurry!" I snapped at him, pulling him back into focus. He blinked instantly before nodding and bolting after Mephiles…which left me with the responsibly of an impending rematch again Iblis.

_Which, in Iblis' case, I guess was our first encounter…but regardless, this time, I would finally have him brought to his knees._

. . .

My hall was filled with top notch security and lasers everywhere, so I managed to bypass all that by accumulating a whole bunch of those tiny silver balls into one giant ball, and using it to roll my way across. Yes, it was unconventional, but the orb didn't set off any alarms, and this way, I could conserve my psychic energy.

_That wasn't really the unsettling part._

What was REALLY off putting was the fact that Iblis' monsters lingered in the halls, and here I was thinking that they only ran rampant in the future. Thanks to whatever went down in the researcher lab, monsters were lurking everywhere, of all varieties and colors and shapes and sizes and it was ridiculous…

"Iblis can't run from me that easily!" I exclaimed, glowing green until my adversaries had an aura to match. I remembered the things Shadow had told me; use my powers as an extension of myself, and not going too hard with them. The monsters withered and kinda danced under my control, and I cast them out of my way, far easier than I ever had before…and I could've been like this the whole time…

I pushed the thought away and steeled my focus on Iblis. If he wasn't sealed up soon, the Day of Disaster would come early!

_Not that disaster hadn't happened already…_

From there, I then jumped down a long shaft that was also filled with lasers, but I was flexible enough to maneuver around them on the way down. When I landed, I came across a room filled with bubbles and floating balls again, along with another throng of enemies. They had me outnumbered in every corner…but maybe this time, they were outmatched.

"Just like Shadow did…maybe I can use these to my advantage," I mused, taking control of the silver balls and hurling them at my foes. Instantly they were pelted back, either colliding with the walls or losing their footing and stumbling into the water. A small smirk played on my face as I wiped them all out, and allowing me to access the next door.

"Not so weak anymore!" I yelled back at them, careening through the doorway and into the next hall.

Ahead, fire lizards were the norm, accompanied by several thousand silver balls and dozens of explosive crates. I gave one a light toss at the foremost lizard, and the flames radiating from its body were enough to ignite the explosives within. I shielded myself and forged on, ammo against my enemies as abundant as the air. Even when a giant titan of a monster stood between me and the next room, I wasn't nearly as nervous as I usually was.

It moved in to attack by throwing flaming spike balls at me, but I halted them and counterattacked, followed by a barrage of moves of my own. I cut myself off before too long, going on the defensive and working my way behind my opponent. When he lifted his foot to turn himself around, I mentally grabbed it, and used that hole in his defenses to completely flip him over. He landed with a thud that reverberated throughout the hall, and I pumped a fist in the air.

"Perfect!"

I moved into the next room, where I found it was much different than previous rooms I'd been in…and not just because Iblis was in there. It was all trimmed in a subdued gold, and the wall designs weren't nearly as offsetting as the rest of the base, and there was a flat table at the far side of the room that Iblis was floating over…

_But not for much longer._

"Hah!"

With a valiant thrust of my hand, I did my best to use my powers to keep Iblis contained, but even with my newfound strength, Iblis' flames were determined and rampant, and it kept trying to leak out. I narrowed my eyes and tried even harder, but I just…I couldn't…

I then heard footsteps behind me, and while still trying to contain Iblis, I looked over my shoulder to see the Duke of Soleanna, struggling to keep himself standing, let alone cradling his young daughter in his arms. My eyes nearly feel out of my head- how was he moving and WHAT was he doing here?!

"Hey! What're you doing!?" I exclaimed, losing a bit of my focus on Iblis. "You've got to leave!"

"I have…my duty…" the Duke wheezed, still shuffling closer to Iblis. "The Living Flame has been entrusted to the royal family, and the Flames of Disaster will awaken if nothing is done! That must not happen!"

…_but it will…_

Right before my eyes, the Duke placed Elise on the flat table I had noticed earlier, her short hair creating a curtain around her face even as she lay unconscious. Her chest heaved lightly up and down with each delicate breath. Thanks to her father, she made it through the explosion just fine, but he was still looking worse for wear, even as he pulled out a white Chaos Emerald. The emerald then hovered above Elise's body, and the Duke's expression became grave with what he stated next.

"Eternal Sun! The Living Flame that has been entrusted to the royal family! Fall into slumber within a royal soul!"

My hold on Iblis was no longer necessary, as its flames were suddenly pooled into the Chaos Emerald. I could only watch as Iblis vanished before my eyes…before the Chaos Emerald plunged the flames into the soul of Elise. Elise shifted slightly even in her unconscious state, and suddenly, I felt completely out of place as I watched the phenomenon…like I wasn't supposed to be witnessing this…

The Duke abruptly stumbled forward as he attempted to kneel in front of Elise, and I shied away out of not fully comprehending what he had just done. A somber quietness filled the room for the longest time, with the only slight sound coming from the Duke, who appeared to be shuddering and sobbing lightly. When he pulled himself together, he lifted Elise up off the altar with the last of his strength…and turned her over to me.

"I'm sorry, but…can you take her…to a safe place?"

He completely fell over as Elise landed in my arms, and I tried to help him back up, but it was hard with my hands suddenly full…he appeared okay for the time being, grabbing Elise's hand and caringly stroking her hair. I suspected that she had to at least be somewhat aware of what was happening, because she kept shifting, but other than that she was unresponsive.

"That's a good girl, Elise," her father said, voice lower yet more full of love than ever before. "Remember, be brave. Don't cry, no matter what happens. Otherwise, your tears will call forth the flames inside you…become a strong queen, who doesn't cry, no matter what happens…and…live…happily…"

The Duke's voice trailed off as his eyes closed and he fell limp, suddenly tumbling onto the floor with nothing I could do for him. The life…in him was gone…and he had died, right in front of me…

_And left his daughter in my care._

Elise…I looked at her a while longer, remembering tales of how she had been the last leader of Soleanna before the Day of Disaster, though I had no idea how important she was until now. The Flames of Disaster…had been sealed inside of her…so did that make _her_…the Iblis Trigger?

_My breath caught in my throat as I replayed the few times I'd run into Sonic. _

Each time, he was standing guard in front of Elise, knowing fully well that she was important, and I had gotten in the way, letting Eggman take her away each time…and I knew from that encounter with the doctor at White Acropolis that he sought out the Flames of Disaster, which would explain why he so desperately needed the princess…

_Sonic…had been trying to prevent that…and I had been trying to kill him…_

Staring at Elise one last time, I had to close my eyes and turn away, feeling so ashamed for all that I had done. Shadow had been right; Sonic wasn't the Iblis Trigger, I had been in the wrong, Mephiles did trick me, and everything I ever tried had no effect toward changing the outcome of the future. If anything, I was just pushing the world _toward_ that future…

_What…what do I do now?_

Now that I had found the truth…what was it that I could do, after such an unforgiving string of failures? The girl in my arms now would eventually grow up and be put into heaps of trouble because of _my_ interference, and I had no way to make it up to her, nor was she aware of the grand scope of things now…

_So many things were wrong…and I couldn't fix everything…not by myself…_

"I'm sorry, Elise…for making things worse than they needed to be," I whispered quietly to the princess as I looked up at the ceiling. "…but…I also have to thank you, because you've shown me…how I can finally bring some peace back to my world…and I don't have to change the past."

_I couldn't fix everything…but I could put a stop to the problems._

. . .

I managed to get out of the base before Shadow, allowing me a few moments of peace with Elise in my arms and the stillness of nature. Both of them were serene and tranquil, almost like the events that had transpired inside never occurred. I wish it could've been that simple, but I was learning quickly that nothing was ever what it seemed.

_Especially when it was from a world different than your own._

Eventually Shadow emerged out of the base too, and I noticed that he had the scepter the Duke gave him in his hand. It was now teeming with a purple mist, which wasn't making me too comfortable. Meekly, I had to ask him what was up.

"Did you do it?"

"…yes," he murmured in response, looking Elise over curiously. "And you?"

I glanced at her too before reluctantly looking away. "…yeah. The 'flames' are properly sealed. It's done."

"…the flames are sealed in her, aren't they?"

_Man he had got that fast. _

I was speechless for a moment, but I was finally able to nod. "…Yes. Her father said that it was the duty of the royal family to appease Solaris and prevent the Flames of Disaster from getting out of hand…and while he regretted putting his daughter into a satiation of permanent turmoil, he still loved her until his dying breath."

Shadow then appeared thoughtful, putting a hand to his chin as he shot me a knowing glance. "But if Iblis' flames are in her, and when she dies on the Egg Carrier is when Iblis is released, then Sonic…"

"…is not the Iblis Trigger," I completed for him, wincing. "Mephiles…he really did lie to me…but what was the point of killing Sonic, then?"

"Maybe he anticipated that he would save her, and putting him out of the picture would guarantee a bad future," Shadow offered. "Mephiles _does_ have the ability to move through time; it's not entirely a farfetched idea."

"But then wouldn't he know Sonic had nothing to do with it…?" I asked, and he only shrugged, meaning he wasn't sure either.

"Hard to say. Overusing time travel does seem to screw things up. If we weren't here, the Day of Disaster would have come a decade early…and yet, it didn't, so it was by design that we ended up here when we did."

"I'm so tired of time travel…" I moaned, rolling my eyes. "…but at least I now know how to get rid of Iblis for good, though I'm not going to like it."

I then inhaled deeply and made my way over to a large tree, delicately setting Elise down. It was obvious that she couldn't come with us, but knowing what I was about to leave her to pulled a bit at my heartstrings. I watched her carefully to make sure she hadn't stirred and let out another sigh.

_Everything I did always seemed to have some dire consequence…_

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Shadow kneeling next to me. When he was close enough, he set the scepter next to Elise, and I felt my eyes bug out of my head.

"You're going to leave it _behind_?!" I gaped. Shadow was quick to explain himself with a grunt.

"I can't take it with me; that could lead to two Mephiles' in the present, and one is already enough. Besides, I already know what becomes of it in the future…"

_Yeah, best not to screw with time more than necessary, I guess…and I have absolutely no room to say that._

Argh, what was I going to do now? Killing the Iblis Trigger was completely out of the question, as that was one of two ways to release Iblis, so I was left directionless again. I didn't even know what I was going to tell Blaze what I went back to get her- that what we thought would help our future was nothing more than an elaborate lie?

_Then I guess…what I had to do was help Sonic, not hurt him…_

"…it's time to return," Shadow interrupted me, standing back up with his green emerald held in his hand. I snapped out of my thoughts and struggled to recover, barely managing a decent response.

"Yes! Of…course…"

"Day of Disaster?" he inquired, wanting to confirm our day of destination. I nodded immediately.

"Yeah…I've still got a future to save…and nobody's going to die that day if I have anything to say about it!" I exclaimed, pulling out my own blue emerald. Shadow nodded with approval.

"Heh, guess your rabid killer days are over."

_How was I supposed to naturally react to that?!_

I could only shrug awkwardly, and he shot me a sadistic smirk.

"…that was a joke, don't look so terrified. In truth…" I leaned in, eager to hear what this "truth" was. "…you're not such a bad guy."

Considering this was coming from a guy like Shadow, it must've been some form of high-praising comment, so I took it with stride as I spun my emerald around in my hands.

"Thanks- you're not awful yourself, once someone gets to know you."

Shadow went blank for a moment, but he shrugged it off and held up his emerald. That was the cue for me to hold up mine as well.

"Chaos…" we began, crossing our arms at the wrist and clearing our minds of nothing but the Day of Disaster. "…CONTROL!"

This time I was much more prepared for the space-time rift to emerge into existence, watching as the blue swirl appeared from thin air. Shadow wasted no time in moving, telling me goodbye before hurling himself through time, leaving me behind to gawk as he vanished through the portal.

"Well…guess I should get going too…"

Right before I entered myself, I snuck a final glance at Elise, who adjusted herself to a more comfortable position on her slumber against the tree. Knowing that she truly was alone in the world from this moment on…until the moment she would meet Sonic…I felt so awful, because there wasn't a thing I could do.

_I hated being alone myself; I would never wish such a state of loneliness unto anyone…_

"Father…" she whispered in a single breath, and she might as well have stabbed a knife in my heart. I couldn't leave her…not like this….not without doing _something_…

Pulling out the white Chaos Emerald I'd picked up from the altar room, after the Duke had used it, I stepped closer to Elise and kneeled next to her. Picking up her hand, I placed the emerald into it, having her hold it close to her.

"That's a Chaos Emerald," I said quietly, feeling my eyes soften. "I've been told that Chaos Emeralds can cause miracles…and that to even have one is like having a lucky charm…"

Elise shifted again, almost appearing visibly happier. I sighed, clenching my fist.

"That was the emerald your father held…right before he passed, so I think you should hold onto it for now…" I explained. "There may come a time when you need to give it up, but remember, even having one is considered lucky…and I'm sure you can use a lucky charm right now."

I recalled the blue one that was also on my person, knowing Elise would get her hands on that one sooner or later in the future.

Even having one was like a lucky charm…so, I was still okay, and now she would be too.

Feeling that my time in this era was over, I turned to the portal and jumped my way in, making it through before the portal closed all the way. Now that I knew the truth, it was time that I started making the right decisions.

_And this time, nobody would have to die._


End file.
